Haryana government has notified draft bill of Pond Development, Protection and Conservation, Pond Water and STP Treated Affluent Utilisation Authority Act, which applies to all the ponds located outside notified forest areas in the state and not to ponds having area as less than 0.5 acres.

An official spokesperson said that the state government has invited objections and suggestions from people in response to the draft bill.

He said that would consist of the chief minister or Minister for Irrigation and Water Resources as Chairperson and Chief Secretary as Vice Chairperson of the Authority. The Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries or Secretaries of Finance Department, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, Panchayati Raj Department, Rural Development Department, Urban Development Department, Fisheries Department, Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, Engineer-in-Chief, Public Health Engineering Department, Director General, Agriculture Department and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests would be the Members of the Authority.

He said that four non-official members from amongst experts or Social workers in the field of environment and ecology or pond development and conservation, of whom at least one would be women and one would be a person belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. The Chief Executive Officer would be the Member Secretary (Ex Officio, Chief Executive Officer of the Authority).

The District Consultation and Monitoring Committee headed by District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned would monitor functions of the Authority at district level from time to time.

No person or institution or organisation (registered or unregistered) would use the pond for any purpose other than mentioned above or construct any structure on pond land, occupy any pond land or part there of or cause any obstruction in the natural or normal course of inflow or outflow of water into, or from, the Ponds on the upstream and or downstream without permission of the Authority, he added.