Two ways to ease Gurgaon water crisis

Water scarcity- hit Gurgaon can meet 50 percent of its water needs by recycling sewage water and harvesting rainwater, according to Nitya Jacob, programme director-water, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

Quoting the latest CSE report, Jacob said that in view of the water table receding by two metres annually in Gurgaon, abutting Delhi, rainwater harvesting and recharging of ground water should be taken up in all seriousness.

Close to 86 MLD (million litres per day) groundwater is extracted from over 30,000 borewells in the city, said Ranen Banerjee, executive director, PricewaterhouseCooper.

The demand for water from groundwater sources rose from six percent to a staggering 70 percent since 2005-06, added Banerjee.

Both Jacob and Banerjee were addressing a workshop on "Tackling Gurgaon's Water Crisis," organised by "Gurgaon First," an NGO here Thursday.

Speakers at the workshop made a strong plea for a separate body to handle water issues on the lines of the Delhi Jal Board, besides providing access to safe and adequate water for villagers in and around Gurgaon.

The issue of retaining and reviving water bodies was also raised at the workshop, according to a press release.

Speakers blamed flat unmetered rates for water and lack of metering in Gurgaon, despite the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) directives, for water mismanagement and wastage.

Also, said NGO Gurgaon First, the blanket ban on digging borewells since 2007 and on groundwater extraction was being openly flouted by the real estate and construction sector.

Although rainwater harvesting was made mandatory in 2012, yet very little water is being saved and collected.

Gurgaon First is a citizens' initiative that conducts business workshops, thought leadership programes and strategic events to bring positive change in Gurgaon.