GREATER NOIDA, June 28 -- Cracking down on unchecked exploitation of groundwater, Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma has directed the cancellation of no objection certificates (NOCs) granted to industrial, commercial, and institutional users who have failed to implement rainwater harvesting systems or demonstrate groundwater recharge efforts, officials said on Friday.

Chairing a review meeting of the District Groundwater Management Committee on Friday, the DM took strong exception to non-compliance and ordered immediate inspections across the district.

"With the onset of monsoon, this is the most critical time to recharge our groundwater reserves. We cannot afford inaction by those who were granted NOCs but have fa...