The Supreme Court today warned state governments and union territories that failure to comply with its orders on taking preventive measures like capping of abandoned borewells, will invite stern action. <br/><br/>A bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar said, this will not stop unless the Court takes action. The observation came, when the Court's attention was drawn to an incident in which a child fell to her death in a village in Punjab recently. <br/><br/>The bench was irked as senior advocate P S Patwalia, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae, in the matter submitted that the guidelines laid down by the Centre on the issue are not being complied with by the authorities.<br/><br/>The bench said it will hear the issue after four weeks and asked the counsel to make a list of the states which have not taken action on its February 11 order.<br/><br/>The apex court on February 11 had ordered that District Collectors across the country should personally monitor the construction of new borewells and take measures to cap abandoned borewells. <br/><br/>It had also recorded an undertaking from the Centre that it would be necessary for land owners to take prior permission at least 15 days in advance for digging of borewells in their lands. It had granted 12 weeks to states and Union Territories for their response to the guidelines sought to be enforced by the Union Ministry of Water Resources. <br/><br/>The apex court had passed the directions while treating a letter in 2009 as a petition to evolve measures for prevention of small children falling into abandoned bore wells and tube wells. It had earlier issued notices to the Centre and states where such incidents had been reported.