Diesel gensets choking Gurugram

Gurugram: External factors may be choking the National Capital Region (NCR) but more importantly inability of checking the internal factors is not helping the cause. Under graded response action plan (GRAP), the use of diesel gensets has been banned but not in Gururgam.

According to an official estimate, around 55,000 liters of diesel is burnt every hour due to the gensets. Erratic power supply and lack of supply of electricity to many new colonies have resulted in the flourishing of diesel gensets business. For a city where many parts still reel under power cuts of 3-6 hours, residents rely on diesel gensets for their power needs. While the cost of power supplied ranged from Rs 7-8 per unit, service providers of diesel generators are charging their customers an exorbitant amount ranging from Rs 11-15 per unit.

The cost of rapid and unplanned growth of residential townships is being felt by its residents. Under debt, most of the builders have failed to apply for the licence for power as a result 12,000 families are forced to depend on generators for their power supply.

Most of the builders began their projects in 2005-2006 when the real estate business in the city was booming. The financial crisis of 2008 and the slowdown in the property market of national capital region thereafter resulted in builders not applying for licences for power and even water connection to save costs. In the 400 residential societies that are presently there in Gurugram, around 120 of the condominiums, are said to be not being provided the power supply from the government body.

As a result, thousands of citizens are unwillingly forced to draw power from diesel generators. For a city that has surpassed the pollution levels of Delhi on most counts reliance on diesel generators is doing no good to improve the city's air. On an average 1,500 liters of diesel are being used on daily basis by the condominiums. The problem of not being provided power is felt in the residential societies that are located in the areas from Sector-58 to Sector 115.

In order to curb spiraling levels of air pollution in Gurugram, there were plans to phase out the generators running on diesel and replace it with CNG run gensets. The move will be adopted under graded action system by the environment pollution control authority (EPCA). RTI Information had recently revealed that more than 10,000 diesel generators are operational in the city.