Madar (Tunis) - Tunisia's Assembly of the Representatives of the People adopted on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, a bill on regularising unauthorised agricultural wells for a flat fee of 3,500 dinars per well, Tunisian news site Webdo reported, citing information published by parliament.
Bill No. 18/2026 passed with 79 votes in favour, 7 against and 10 abstentions. It covers wells dug before December 10, 2024, and sets a regularisation deadline of December 31, 2027. Conditions and procedures will be set by a decision of the minister in charge of water resources.
Once their wells are regularised, operators will be able to benefit from state incentives, but cannot claim them retroactively. The text also aims to take stock of these wells, regulate their use and better control the volumes of water drawn, including through meters and monitoring of pumping.
It also repeals article 81 of the 2025 finance law, which already governed the regularisation of unauthorised deep wells. Its actual implementation depends on completing legal procedures and publishing the necessary implementing texts, the same source said.
