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As the city grapples with its perennial water crisis, its planning and infrastructure development agency Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is working on several projects to augment the availability of raw water and improve the distribution of drinking water to provide even colonies at the tail-end of the pipeline with an adequate supply.
The city has been in the throes of this major crisis for over a decade as it has always depended heavily on groundwater due to a lack of water sources in its vicinity. Its groundwater table has been declining rapidly – from half-a-metre per year since the 1980s until four years ago to 1m per year since then--shows data from the hydrology department. According to experts, the over-use of groundwater for construction, a rapid population growth and the lack of rainwater harvesting in the city have led to a gross imbalance between groundwater extraction and regeneration, leading to an alarming decline in the water table.
The GMDA’s main challenge right now is to expand the water supply network in developing sectors--58 to 11--where the non-availability of land has been a major roadblock to laying the infrastructure for utilities. Sudhir Rajpal, who took over as the chief of GMDA in February 2021, said the authority identified around 250 bottlenecks initially, and while several of them have been resolved, challenges still remain. He speaks about the authority’s future projects that aim to resolve Gurugram’s water crisis.
How does the authority plan to increase the availability so that there is no shortage of drinking water, particularly in developing sectors where people have to depend on tankers?
Gurugram gets its water from the Yamuna river via Kakroi headworks near Sonipat through the Gurgaon Water Supply channel (since 1995) and the NCR water channel (since 2010). The Gurgaon Water Channel channel, which was constructed between 1992 and 1994, was remodelled in 2006 and 2007 to increase its capacity to 175 cusecs. The present capacity of NCR water channel is 500 cusecs.
The first step is to increase the capacity of the Gurgaon Water Channel from 125cusecs to 475cusecs by converting it into a box drain (a drain with a rectangular cross-section, it can handle a heavier flow of water--more than the regular pipes and provide superior strength). This will increase the availability of raw water for treatment at Basai and Chandu Budhera plants.
We also plan to establish a 100MLD (million litres a day) filtration plant at Basai to enhance the city’s ability to treat and provide people with more water. Our focus is not only to expand the capacity but also reduce wastage and manage available resources optimally.
Many condominiums in developing sectors are still waiting for water connections and several developers have not been able to connect with the master services provided by the authority. How do you plan to resolve the problem of connectivity?
To resolve this issue, we have decided that GMDA will lay water pipelines, sewerage and other infrastructure inside sectors as well to ensure that condominiums and developers can easily access these services.
To that end, we will start a pilot project in Sector 65, where sub-master services will be laid on internal sector roads. This will also avoid duplication of infrastructure by developers, and wastage of space as well.
We are also planning to create infrastructure according to the existing and future licences expected in the area so that a residential or commercial project that comes up later doesn’t face problems. This pilot project, if successful, will be implemented in developing sectors but services will not be free and developers will have to pay for them.
A lot of people in the tail-end areas who get erratic supply have to depend on water tankers. What steps are the authority taking to improve distribution so that people get relief?
We have laid a pipeline network across developing sectors from 58 to 115 and provided to all of them, barring sector 71 to 80.
Condominiums with occupancy certificates can apply for connections and we have got adequate water to serve the demand.
A boosting station in Sector 72 will become operational in the next two or three months and improve supply, particularly along the Southern Peripheral Road in sectors 71 to 80.
We have also made changes in the existing infrastructure and managed to increase capacity by 25%, as well as set up parallel lines at the boosting stations to improve distribution.
We have also implemented a Centralised Water Management System (electromagnetic flow metres, water control valves, and water level sensors are deployed along a pipeline and integrated with the Integrated Command and Control System of GMDA at its office in Sector 44) along the line from Basai to Dundahera, which has helped audit the water supply network.
We are now implementing it along two other major lines. It will give us a better perspective on water availability, usage, wastage and improve billing from consumers.
All steps are being taken to ensure water reaches to the end of the line, but there are bottlenecks we need to overcome.
What are the major impediments in laying pipelines and infrastructure across the city?
To ensure that services such as water are accessible, the network has to be continuous--there is no scope for any disruption. In Gurugram, due to the non-availability of land and legal issues pertaining to acquisition, we have been forced to delay the creation of a lot of infrastructure.
The water booster station in Sector 72 is complete but the pipeline for water supply is yet to be laid—we don’t have land to do so right and it is delaying matters. While we are making all efforts to resolve this issue and several similar bottlenecks but this takes time.
What steps should builders and civic agencies take to ensure better availability of water in their areas?
The developers and civic agencies must ensure that locals infrastructure has adequate capacity such has underground water tanks, the distribution is regulated and there is no wastage of water.
Conserving, managing and judicious use are the keys to better water management.
Abhishek Behl is principal correspondent, Hindustan Times in Gurgaon Bureau. He covers infrastructure, planning and civic agencies in the city. He has been covering Gurgaon as correspondent for the last 10 years, and has written extensively on the city. ...view detail
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