The Times of India 23.09.2010
A master plan that can help city save its groundwater
GURGAON: Its raining in Gurgaon but the city is in the middle of a water crisis. Gurgaons groundwater level, according to official statistics, is shrinking at the rate of six feet a year on average.
It's getting worse actually. According to officials, the annual rate of depletion is expected to touch 10 feet in the next few years. The rising demand for water, clubbed with the never-ending construction work in the city is going to push it even further.
Residents, who are totally dependent on groundwater for their daily needs, are extracting three times more groundwater than what is permissible.
But there is a solution. All the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has to do is implement a rainwater harvesting master plan, prepared by Jamia Millia Islamia professor of civil engineering. A total of 365 spots across Gurgaon have been identified in the master plan where recharge pits can be constructed. The report is ready and will soon be submitted to MCG, said Professor Gauhar Mahmood.
Under the pan-Gurgaon master plan, every inch of land whether residential, park, or industrial has been surveyed to check the possibility of setting up rainwater harvesting projects. The Master Plan will also provide technical inputs on various aspects related to rainwater harvesting, like water quality, type of construction to be done based on quantity of rainfall, and size of the recharge pits.
An MCG official informed that earlier in August, based on interim reports, RWH pits had already been constructed at nine spots. They include Sikanderpur Chowk, Biodiversity Park, Sukhrali Lake, and areas near where the offices of the deputy commissioner and the municipal corporation are located.
The corporation is eager to implement the plan, said YK Garg, MCG superintending engineer. An NGO I Am Gurgaon has been working with MCG to create awareness about the means to save water. Latika Thukral of the NGO said, The government has made it mandatory to build rainwater harvesting pit while building houses. So it is also duty of citizens to comply with the rules.
We are also encouraging corporate houses to carry out water surveys on their premises, she added.
It's getting worse actually. According to officials, the annual rate of depletion is expected to touch 10 feet in the next few years. The rising demand for water, clubbed with the never-ending construction work in the city is going to push it even further.
Residents, who are totally dependent on groundwater for their daily needs, are extracting three times more groundwater than what is permissible.
But there is a solution. All the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has to do is implement a rainwater harvesting master plan, prepared by Jamia Millia Islamia professor of civil engineering. A total of 365 spots across Gurgaon have been identified in the master plan where recharge pits can be constructed. The report is ready and will soon be submitted to MCG, said Professor Gauhar Mahmood.
Under the pan-Gurgaon master plan, every inch of land whether residential, park, or industrial has been surveyed to check the possibility of setting up rainwater harvesting projects. The Master Plan will also provide technical inputs on various aspects related to rainwater harvesting, like water quality, type of construction to be done based on quantity of rainfall, and size of the recharge pits.
An MCG official informed that earlier in August, based on interim reports, RWH pits had already been constructed at nine spots. They include Sikanderpur Chowk, Biodiversity Park, Sukhrali Lake, and areas near where the offices of the deputy commissioner and the municipal corporation are located.
The corporation is eager to implement the plan, said YK Garg, MCG superintending engineer. An NGO I Am Gurgaon has been working with MCG to create awareness about the means to save water. Latika Thukral of the NGO said, The government has made it mandatory to build rainwater harvesting pit while building houses. So it is also duty of citizens to comply with the rules.
We are also encouraging corporate houses to carry out water surveys on their premises, she added.
