52 illegal stormwater drain connections identified, notices sent to offenders

Officials from the infrastructure-II division said that around 40-50 MLD of sewage is illegally released into the city’s stormwater drains at present. These illegal connections add to the waterlogging problems during peak monsoon

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has identified at least 52 illegal stormwater drain connections over the past two weeks and sent notices to offenders, officials said.

Illegal stormwater drain connections cause flooding of drains and compound waterlogging problems during peak monsoon. (HT Archive)

The drainage division of GMDA has identified these connections with exact coordinates so that locating and disconnecting them is easy, officials said.

Pardeep Kumar, chief engineer, infrastructure-II division of GMDA, said, “As per norms, untreated sewage should not go into our drains, but there are many such unauthorised connections to stormwater drains in the city, which we identified during a survey this month. We are now tracing those who have made these connections and sending notices to them along with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, which will further be disconnecting them.”

Kumar said that if violators repeat the offence, action will be taken against them under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Environment Protection Act, 1986, with the help of the pollution control board.

Officials from the infrastructure-II division said that around 40-50 MLD of sewage is illegally released into the city’s stormwater drains at present. These illegal connections add to the waterlogging problems during peak monsoon.

Explaining how these illegal connections are being identified, a senior official from the infrastructure-II division said, “We are sending cameras mounted on selfie sticks or similar devices down different manholes in the city, where we have noticed heavy waterlogging, and through these cameras, we are able to identify the illegal connections.”

Officials said that maximum violations were found at Khandsa village street, Vatika Chowk, Sector 39/46 road, Sector 45 on Bhagwan Mahaveer Marg and Garoli industrial area.

Between January and May, the GMDA had removed over 170 illegal connections to sewer lines and stormwater drains in the city. These connections were mostly from housing societies and led to flooding and overflow of sewer and stormwater drains.