Office of District Public Relations Officer, Faridkot Faridkot, 24 JUNE 2025 FACT RECORDER Punjab Desk: District Magistrate of Faridkot, Ms. Poonamdeep Kaur, IAS, exercising the powers vested under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, has issued directions related to the digging and repair of wells, borewells, and tubewells in the district. These directions have been implemented keeping public safety in mind and in compliance with the guidelines issued by the Punjab Government following the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, especially considering incidents where people, including children, have fallen into open borewells causing loss of life and property.
Key Guidelines:
Prior Notice Mandatory: Before digging or repairing any well or borewell, landowners must inform the District Collector, respective Sarpanch (Gram Panchayat), Municipal Council, Public Health Department, and Soil Conservation Department at least 15 days in advance.
Mandatory Registration of Agencies: All agencies (government/semi-government/private) involved in digging or repairing must be registered.
Display of Information Board: At the site, a signboard must be installed clearly displaying the full address of the borewell owner and the drilling agency, along with the registration number of the agency.
Site Safety Measures: The borewell must be properly covered with a steel plate secured with nuts and bolts. A barbed wire fence must be placed around it. The well/bore must be sealed with a casing pipe properly fixed with nuts and bolts.
Concrete Platform Requirement: A cement/concrete platform of size 0.50m x 0.50m x 0.60m (0.30m above and 0.30m below ground level) must be constructed around the borewell.
Filling of Unused Borewells: Any unused or empty well must be filled with soil/sand up to the top. After repairs, the ground level must be restored. No open borewell should be left uncovered under any circumstances.
Sealing of Abandoned Wells: Any abandoned well must be sealed properly using clay, stones, or concrete from the bottom to the top.
Prohibition Without Written Permission: No person is allowed to dig or repair a well/borewell without written permission and supervision from the Water Supply and Sanitation Department.
Monthly Reporting: In rural areas, Sarpanches and officers of the Agriculture Department, and in urban areas, officers from Public Health, Soil Conservation, and Municipal Councils (Junior Engineers and Executive Officers) must prepare a monthly report of borewell activities in their area — including new installations, repairs, active/inactive status. One copy of the report should be kept for office records, and another copy must be sent monthly to the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Faridkot.
These orders will remain in force until August 16, 2025.
