Gurgaon: Fresco residents fear new pumps will hasten groundwater depletion in the area

The Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) at Unitech Fresco alleged that despite several complaints to the developer and Huda (Haryana urban development authority), no action has been taken as yet.

The residents of Fresco Apartment in Sector 50 have accused Unitech, the developer, of installing two submersible pumps in the area which they fear will lead to a further decline the depleting groundwater level in the city.

The residents of Unitech Fresco rued the failure of the developer in ensuring supply of canal water to the society. (Parveen Kumar/ HT FILE)

The Residents’ Welfare association (RWA) alleged that despite several complaints to the developer and Huda (Haryana urban development authority), no action has been taken as yet.

“The groundwater level in the area is on a free-fall and going down every day. We have two licensed borewells, which are used to pump water for over 2,500 residents here. The condominium needs approximately 6 lakh litres of groundwater every day and this amounts to 22 crore litres every year. Canal water supply line should have been made available to Fresco in 2010 when the residents started living here. We understand that a substantial investment needs to be made to enable the canal water reach the condominium and the developer has been skirting the issue in a bid to avoid making this expense. They seem unmoved by the depleting groundwater level and the plight of the residents,” Nilesh Tandon, president, RWA, said.

The Fresco condominium project was part of a joint venture between Unitech and Pioneer Land & Infrastructure.

“Fellow residents of South City 2 and Nirvana Country were more aware and alert and through sustained pressure on the builder and following up with the authorities concerned, they managed to get canal water. It soon became their primary source of water and groundwater extraction was relegated to being a secondary source of supply. Fresco is still completely dependent on groundwater extraction through two submersible pumps”, said Pradeep Arora, a Fresco resident.

“Groundwater extraction is going on relentlessly. The pits haven’t been cleaned for all these years. I shudder to think of the impact on residents if any of the submersible pumps were to malfunction,” Arora said.

The residents had also moved the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB)claiming that the society’s sewage treatment plant was connected to the condominium’s rain water harvesting pits and the same was leading to groundwater contamination.

A team from the HSPCB inspected the area on Friday.

“We have conducted an inspection of the area. We are waiting for the result of the samples that we took for examination. We will take necessary action if we find any violations,” Bhupender Singh, regional officer, HSPCB, said.

A spokesperson for Unitech said, “We are fully cooperating with the authorities and have handed over the documents required by the officials, including Huda”.

The city is facing acute groundwater depletion and it has been marked “over exploiting” under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Fresco doesn’t have canal water connection and most of the water for daily use is extracted from the ground.