(1) The Ground Water Officer or any person authorized by him in writing in this behalf, shall have the following powers, namely:—
(a) to enter on any property (private or Government) with the right to investigate and make any measurements concerning the land or water located on the surface or underground;
(b) to inspect the well which has been or is being sunk and the soils and materials excavated therefrom;
(c) to take specimens of such soils or other materials or of water extracted from such wells;
(d) to require, by order in writing, the person sinking a well to keep and preserve in the prescribed manner specimens of soils or any materials excavated therefrom for such period not exceeding three months from the date of completion or abandonment of the work as may be specified by the Ground Water Officer and thereupon such person shall comply with such order;
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(e) to inspect and to take copies of the relevant record or documents and ask any question necessary for obtaining information (including diameter or depth of the well which is being sunk; the level at which the water is or was struck and subsequently restored/rested, the type of strata encountered in sinking of the well and the quality of the water struck) required for carrying out the purposes of the Act;
(f) to require the user of ground water to install water measuring device on any water supplies when necessary to properly administer the water or where there is a reason to believe that the user does not comply with the provisions contained in this Act or any other sufficient reason for defending the public interest:
Provided that where the user of ground water doesn’t comply with the requisition issued to him within a period of thirty days, the Ground Water Officer may install such water measuring device and recover the cost from the defaulting user of ground water;
(g) to seize and keep custody of any equipment/device utilised for illegal sinking and close the work executed, partly or fully;
(h) to require any user of ground water, who does not comply with the provisions of this Act and the rules framed thereunder, to close down any water supply or destroy any hydraulic work found to be illegal according to the provisions of this Act and the rules framed thereunder:
Provided that where the user of ground water does not comply with the requisition issued to him within a period of thirty days, the Ground Water Officer may himself carry out the necessary work and recover the cost from the illegal user as arrears of land revenue;
(i) to enter and search with assistance, if any, as he considers necessary, any place in which the Ground Water Officer has reason to believe that offence under this Act has been or is being committed and order in writing the person who has been or is committing the offence not to extract or use the ground water for a specified period;
(j) to exercise such other powers as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act or any rules made thereunder;
(k) to advise the State Electricity Department for withdrawing/stopping power supply to the existing well in case of violation of any provision of this Act;
(1) to monitor that the State Electricity Department does not energise the wells without clearance from the Ground Water Officer;
(m) to close the use of toilet/septic tank/soak pit if it is found that it is polluting the well.
(2) The power conferred by this section includes the power to break open the door of any premise where sinking, extraction and use of ground water may be going on:
Provided that the power to break open the door shall be exercised only after the owner or any other person in the occupation of the premises, if he is present therein, refuses to open the door on being called to do so.
(3) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974), shall so far as may be, apply to any search or seizure under this section as they apply to ---9--- any search or seizure made under the authority of a warrant issued under section 93 of the said Code.