The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the principal secretary of Haryana's town and country planning department to ensure that no tube well is operational for construction purposes in Gurgaon. The official would be personally liable if the directives are not implemented in earnest, the court said on August 21. The order follows an earlier order of the court prohibiting groundwater extraction for building projects. To help out the developers, the state authorities have, meanwhile, made available some of the city's treated sewage so that construction activity can restart.
The court’s order is in response to a petition filed in 2008 by Sunil Singh, a lawyer, alleging that real estate giant DLF was illegally operating 28 wells to service its commercial office hub, Cyber City. The scope of the case has since expanded to check rampant extraction of groundwater across the city, and to also ensure adequate piped water supply.
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For construction, the state government has said that raw water from the canal can be made available from October to licensed construction projects on payment at the raw water tanks at the waterworks. Projects in sector 1-57 have a requirement of 6.75 mld, sector 58-115 of 29.25 mld and 4.95 mld as reported by the municipal commissioner of Gurgaon.
HUDA has been trying to make alternate arrangements following the high court's July 16 order barring use of groundwater for construction. To circumvent the order, they have now made available 9.9 mld of treated sewage that can be used by the construction companies. According to the state government, a 54 mld tertiary treatment plant will be functional in the next two years. Officials also claim to have constructed rainwater recharge areas in 11 locations with plans for 300 more such structures.
The court has directed that all officers, including the deputy commissioner, in the concerned case be present for the next hearing slated for September 4.