The Hindu     25.07.2012

Rainwater harvesting made mandatory in Gurgaon

The district administration has now made it mandatory for houses with more than 100 square metres covered area to have a rainwater harvesting system in place. Twenty teams have been constituted to grant permission to install the systems and ensure their functioning.

The orders come in the wake of a recent Punjab and Haryana High Court directions barring Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) from issuing fresh licences for housing projects without an undertaking from the builders not to draw ground water.

District Magistrate P.C. Meena has appointed Superintending Engineers concerned of HUDA and Municipal Corporation Gurgaon as overall in-charge to ensure implementation of orders and said that supervisory officers would be held responsible for any lapses or violations of the orders.

The teams have been directed to grant permission for installation of the rainwater harvesting system within 10 days of receiving the application and ensure that system is used only for recharge of aquifer and not for abstracting ground water. The applicant will have to give an undertaking along with the application showing the complete address of the registered owner or agency of boring machine before the injection of tube-well for the said system. The applicant will also have to give an undertaking saying that he would adhere to directions of the Central Ground Water Authority and the Supreme Court.

The teams have been directed to check the installation of the rainwater harvesting system in the premises of the applicant after completion of work and send progress report to the Member Secretary District Advisory Committee-cum-Hydrologist in the first week of every month.

The Hydrologist will in turn compile the progress report and submit consolidated report to the Deputy Commissioner’s office for discussion at District Advisory Committee meeting.

According to the district administration, the total water supply to the city is just 60 MGD against the total demand of 200 MGD and hence daily withdrawal of ground water works out to be 140 MGD.

The withdrawal of ground water at this rate has caused its level to plummet by 8 metres per annum posing a severe danger of ground water being completely exhausted in the next few years.

For houses with more than 100 square metres covered area