Chairing a review meeting on the Jal Jeevan Mission on Thursday, the minister said groundwater levels in several parts of Karnataka have fallen to depths of over 1,000 feet, making indiscriminate borewell drilling both expensive and ineffective. The minister instructed officials to prioritise surface water supply schemes wherever feasible and to permit new borewell drilling only in unavoidable circumstances after obtaining technical advice from geologists. Officials informed the meeting that prolonged rainfall deficiency had resulted in drinking water shortages in 766 Gram Panchayats during July. At present, 138 villages are being supplied drinking water through tankers, officials said. The minister instructed officials to ensure that any complaint regarding drinking water scarcity from a village is addressed within 24 hours, either by restoring the water supply or by arranging tanker services without delay.