Gurgaon civic body to fine those using drinking water for other purposes

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has issued new directions to prevent misuse of drinking water. As per the directives, residents and developers who are caught using drinking water for gardening and construction work will be penalised.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has issued new directions to prevent misuse of drinking water. As per the directives, residents and developers who are caught using drinking water for gardening and construction work will be penalised.

On Sunday, a team of Hindustan Times witnessed an attendant at the official residence of the MCG commissioner watering the plants in the commissioner’s garden. The attendant was also seen washing the gates of the house with running water. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

According to a senior official, the move comes in the backdrop of a recent directive issued by the Central Ground Water Authority to check the depletion of the ground water level. The civic body too has been asked to take every step possible to prevent further depletion of the ground water table in Gurgaon to keep a check on groundwater extraction from borewells in the areas where the authorities are supplying water. The directive was issued on November 16.

The MCG has not yet disclosed the penalty amount but according to official sources, the fine could range between Rs 200 and Rs 2,000.

The civic body has constituted teams to inspect areas. These teams have been authorised to fine defaulters. As evidence, the members of the team will click pictures and submit it to the office.

On Sunday, a team of Hindustan Times witnessed an attendant at the official residence of the MCG commissioner watering the plants in the commissioner’s garden. The attendant was also seen washing the gates of the house with running water.

According to the official data, Huda supplies around 60 million gallons of water per day (MGD).

There remains a gap of around 25 MGD to fulfill the demand of a population of around 20 lakh.

While the civic body supplies 16 million gallons per day (MGD) to its areas, of these 13 MGD is being taken from the Haryana urban development authority (Huda) and another three million gallons is managed by 90 tube wells in the urban limit.

In 2012, similar orders to check misuse of water in the city were issued by the then Huda administrator. People who were found washing their vehicles in the premises were fined. A defaulter had to shell out anything Rs 200 to Rs 2,000 while a developer had to pay Rs 10,000.

The authorities currently supply residential area with treated water as a single source in the developed Sectors 1-57. There are plans to install dual water supply pipelines for households in newly developed townships in Sectors 58-115 for supplying potable and non-potable water.

Meanwhile, residents expressed concern over the new move and said the authority has failed to provide any alternative mode of water.

“The MCG should give us alternatives so we can meet our needs. We cannot rush to a service station every time we want to wash our vehicles. They should have planned properly to overcome such issues. They should plan in advance before issuing directives,” said Niharika Walia, a resident of South City 1.