Committee suggests steps to improve groundwater level

A Gautam Budh Nagar district committee suggested construction of water storage tanks, check dams along river Hindon and ponds, improvement of stormwater drain network and change in irrigation practice to conserve rainwater and stop depletion of the groundwater table in Greater Noida west.

A Gautam Budh Nagar district committee suggested construction of water storage tanks, check dams along river Hindon and ponds, improvement of stormwater drain network and change in irrigation practice to conserve rainwater and stop depletion of the groundwater table in Greater Noida west.

Environmentalists said the committee should have suggested effective ways to conserve rainwater in realty projects as Greater Noida is a realty hub.(HT)

The committee is headed by the district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar and has members from central ground water authority, UP pollution control board, state water resource department and the Greater Noida authority.

“We will send the report to the Greater Noida authority, which will implement all suggestions mentioned in it. The objective is to stop wastage of rain water and use the same for recharging the ground water table in Greater Noida west,” BB Awasthi, regional officer of UP pollution control board (UPPCB), said.

The Uttar Pradesh government in June 2016 had formed the committee, following orders from the national green tribunal (NGT) on February 29, 2016. The NGT had issued orders in response to a petition filed by a Mukesh Yadav, who demanded that immediate steps be taken to stop depletion of the groundwater table in and around Bisrakh.

Greater Noida west, which forms a part of the Bisrakh block, is categorised as an overexploited zone and there is dire need to improve groundwater scenario and ensure sustainability of groundwater resources, the NGT report stated. As per the report, there was zero recharge of groundwater table in Bisrakh block (Greater Noida west) during the monsoon in 2013. The report also stated that the groundwater level was down by 8.16 metres.

According to a report by the central ground water board, groundwater depleted at a rate of 3.87 metres per year from 2008 to 2012, against the earlier rate of 1 metre per year, in two of the biggest blocks of the district -- Dankaur and Bisrakh.

The committee has suggested rejuvenation of 100 ponds to conserve rainwater, to recharge groundwater, in this area.

“We will immediately work to implement all the suggestions mentioned in the report by this committee,” Deepak Agarwal, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Greater Noida authority, said.

Mukesh Yadav had filed the petition with NGT in 2014 after he found that borewells were failing to supply drinking water. He alleged that the groundwater level was depleting at an alarming rate due to widespread digging work by realtors to lay foundation of buildings.

The committee’s report also stated that crops that require less water for irrigation must be cultivated on 1,500 hectares of agricultural area in Greater Noida west.

“Greater Noida west is a realty hub with hundreds of residential and commercial tall towers and not home to agricultural activity. Therefore, the committee should have suggested effective ways to conserve rainwater in these realty projects. Builders are not at all serious about conserving rain water. They are extracting groundwater and waste the precious water resource. The report should be revised and must be increasingly focused on stopping wastage of groundwater by builders,” Vikrant Tongad, environmentalist, who attended meetings of committee, said.