Of 136 ponds in MCG area, 116 have run dry

Gururam: The concern over falling ground water reserves in Gurugram has found a mention in the green court and it has also been acknowledged by the Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar. Shrinking of water bodies in the district, especially in the urban areas, is cited as one of the major reasons for this crisis. A recent report by Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has observed that of the 136 ponds in the areas under the Gurugram civic body, 116 have completely dried out. Moreover, the degradation of most of these water bodies have occurred in a span of a decade.

The 20 ponds that have survived in the city are also in dire straits. With the city witnessing a rapid urbanisation, most of these ponds that occupy an area of more than an acre was taken over by the strong and influential land mafia. To make sure that there is no action on the encroachments that have taken place, the land sharks have resorted to the tactics of building religious structures so that no destruction takes place. Other purposes for which the large area of land has been utilised include building of community centre, cowsheds, parks, commercial zones and even parking lot exclusively for the corporates.

The ancient Sukhrali village pond, a rare pond situated in the centre of the city, has survived from being taken over by the real estate sharks unlike other ponds in the village that have been urbanised. However, the residents of Sukhrali do not feel very happy at the state of maintenance of the pond and rather want it to be converted into a park or a sports ground for training.

Chief Minister ML Khattar during the recent budget session also acknowledged the concerns of falling ground water reserve in Gurugram. He mentioned that to tackle the issue not only will the new water bodies be created but there will also be efforts to restore the dying ponds in the city. On the part of urban renewal of ponds, the Gurugram civic body will start working on the revival of three ponds namely Basai, Jahajgarh and Sukhrali.

The civic body not only aims to rejuvenate the water bodies but also develop these spots into recreation spots. While some amount of work has started on the Basai pond, the preparation of budget for works on Sukhrali and Jahajgarh pond is in progress.

While developing ponds and bunds seems to be a major priority for the district administration. It also has to deal with the illegal bore wells that results in diminishing the underground water level. Not only was there a reduction in water bodies but also there was over exploitation of ground water reserves. In 1974, the ground water in Gurugram can be traced at six meters below the ground level. Today, it has fallen to 40 meters.

Around 40 per cent of the citizens still depend on the ground water for their water needs. Water scarcity in large parts of the city has resulted in the growth of tanker mafia where water is sold to the resident at exorbitant rates. Most of the residents complain that they are forced to pay Rs 1,500 to the private water tankers.