HUDA to Address Water Scarcity Woes, Lay Pipeline in Gurgaon
The compounding water scarcity in Gurgaon has had the HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Authority) coming up with a plan to lay a water supply pipeline in Gurgaon on February 26th. Water scarcity has been so rampant and severe in the whole district and surrounding areas and the pipeline promises to alleviate that problem. HUDA plans to lay the pipeline on a revenue road, with the precaution against protests from the Fazilpur village residents, on charges that it is a private property. The revenue road where the pipe is laid, connects the boosting station in Sector 51 to the pipeline laid out by HUDA along the Southern Peripheral Road or SPR. The pipeline in SPR will supply water to sectors 68 to 80, who have been facing the controversial water problem.
HUDA’s plan to supply potable water
Urban development authority HUDA has drafted a new plan to supply potable water to 13 new sectors where the Punjab and Haryana high court has kept occupation certificates of flats on hold till the requisite infrastructure is put in place. The HUDA has been forced to come up with a blueprint for supplying potable water to 13 sectors, where 124 new housing and commercial licenses have been awarded. This was the effect of a complaint filed by a resident of Silokhra in Gurgaon, who claimed that builders were engaged in illegal extraction of groundwater.
The Fazilpur villagers were unhappy with the proposal of the pipeline. HUDA had approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, claiming that if the SPR agrees, the pipeline could help the new sectors significantly. The only other alternative would be to build a pipeline from Chandu Budhera water plant all the way to new sectors situated across NH-8. This would take four years at least and because residents of sectors 68 to 80 could not wait, the court is to force HUDA to come up with a permanent solution.
According to HUDA, it is facing many problems, right from impending land acquisitions and sign-offs to protests against new lines that were to come up at the Chandu Budhera water treatment plant.
The HUDA has, apart from the stop-gap solution of putting in the pipeline, has agreed to address the problem permanently within the next two years. It plans to lay new distribution lines of 39.4 km in these 13 sectors in two years, stating that it will invite tenders that will be sorted out in 6 months and supply lines will be laid in 18 months. The Punjab and Haryana government will not issue occupation certificates to builders in these 13 sectors until the water problem is solved.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the state government to prepare a thorough database of residents in these sectors, including water requirements, daily intake and source of water supply. The Court said that this was more important than the state government earning revenue by selling illegal colony licenses to builders and developers.
In fact, the builders who were illegally extracting groundwater in Gurgaon were in violation of many norms laid down in the Environment (Protection) Act.
This is the second time that the master pipeline from the Basai water treatment plant failed, suspending water supply for 85 per cent of the city. It is a huge line, so repairs take long time. The leakage of the pipe caused lakhs of liters of water to be wasted in just a few days. The first time this happened was when HUDA had repaired the line in November. Within the last 12 months alone, the pipeline has ruptured about 11 times.
HUDA, HUDA Haryana, Punjab and Haryana High court, Southern Peripheral Road, water pipelines, Water scarcity, Water treatment plant
