Borewell accidents show that the 2010 Supreme Court of India safety guidelines are not being followed properly. The court took suo motu action after many cases of children falling into open borewells. Even with clear rules, these incidents still happen, causing dangerous situations and rescue operations. There is an urgent need to enforce these safety measures more strictly to stop such accidents.
New Delhi: After more than 14 years, the Supreme Court established guidelines to prevent accidents involving abandoned borewells, yet the recurring accidents highlight significant gaps in enforcement and public awareness of the court’s orders.
The issue resurfaced due to a series of incidents that have led to urgent and dramatic rescue efforts.
Recently, a three-year-old girl named Chetna fell into a 150-foot-deep borewell in Rajasthan’s Kotputli-Behror district, prompting a rescue operation by the NDRF and SDRF. Previously, a five-year-old boy named Aryan fell into a similar borewell in Dausa, and despite a 55-hour rescue effort, he was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.
These tragedies occurred despite comprehensive guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on February 11, 2010, in response to a letter petition highlighting the alarming frequency of such accidents.
The guidelines, formulated by a bench led by former Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, included measures such as:
- Erecting barbed-wire fencing around wells during construction.
- Installing a steel plate cover secured with bolts over well assemblies.
- Filling abandoned borewells from the bottom to ground level.
The court emphasized the need for public awareness, stating,
“It has been brought to the notice of this court that in a number of cases, children had been trapped and fallen into borewells… Accordingly, we took suo motu initiative and issued notice to the various states to take immediate measures to prevent such kinds of incidents.”
Landowners were required to notify local authorities in writing at least 15 days before constructing borewells.
The registration of all drilling agencies, whether government or private, was mandated. The court also called for:
- A signboard detailing the drilling agency’s and owner’s addresses to be placed at the construction site.
- Barbed-wire fencing or suitable barriers around wells during construction.
- A cement platform around the well casing, with a cover made of welded steel plates.
The Supreme Court ordered that abandoned borewells be filled with materials like clay, sand, or boulders, ensuring that ground conditions were restored post-drilling.
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Additionally, the guidelines were to be widely publicized through national media, and copies were to be sent to the chief secretaries of all states for distribution to local district collectors.
On August 6, 2010, a three-judge bench led by former Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia slightly modified the earlier order, directing the maintenance of a district-wise record of all borewells and tube wells, both operational and abandoned.
Monitoring in rural areas was to be conducted by village sarpanchs and agricultural department officials, while urban areas would be overseen by junior engineers and officials from groundwater or public health departments.