Ground water level in Ghaziabad going down sharply

The ground water level in Ghaziabad is going down sharply, according to statistics from the Central Ground Water Authority of India (CGWAI).

Revealing the statistics received from the CGWAI's central public information office (CPIO) from 2006 to 2010, Akash Vashishtha, an environmentalist and convenor of the Society for Protection of Environment and Biodiversity, said the ground water of the city was going down at the rate of 1.5 metres to 2 metres annually.

According to the data provided by the CPIO, the ground water level in 2006 was 16.95 metres below ground level (MBGL). In 2008, it was 17.89 MBGL and it went further down to 17.96 and finally to 20.21 MBGL in 2010.

The water harvesting system has not been enforced despite being made mandatory by the local authority before approving maps for housing.

Vashishtha said the government merely send new orders to preserve water but the ground reality was different.

Additional District Magistrate (City) Preetie Jaiswal said: "It is true that the water situation is critical in the city. We shall write to the concerned departments to enforce the government orders."

--IANS

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