(1) From the date of commencement of this Act, no person shall use any water from any water source without obtaining the Entitlement from the respective River Basin Agencies :
Provided that, no Entitlement shall be required in case of,-
(a) any bore well, tube well or other well which are being used for domestic purposes; and
(b) tanks, small reservoirs or catchments of rainwater harvesting with an annual yield capacity as may be decided by the Authority :
[Provided further that, the Entitlement under this section shall be required only after the distribution of Entitlement has been determined and the criteria for issuance of Entitlement has been laid under section 11.]
Explanation.- For the purposes of this section, the expression "person" shall include individual, group of individuals, all local authorities, association, societies, companies, etc.
(2) Use of the water for the purposes of agriculture, through any existing bore well, tube well or other well in the command area of a project on the date of commencement of this Act, shall be allowed to continue till such date as may be notified by the Authority.
(3) There shall not be any restriction on digging of any bore well, tube well and other well in the command area of a project, till such date as may be notified by the Authority.
(4) Water shall not be made available from the canal for perennial crops in such area and from such date as may be notified by the Authority, unless the cultivator adopts drip irrigation or sprinkler irrigation or such other water saving technology approved by the Authority. The quantity of water so saved, after satisfying the future increased demand of drinking water, shall be distributed equitably in the command area and the adjoining area.