Noida Authorities To Monitor Water Usage

Satellite towns of Noida and Gurgaon face a severe shortage of piped water. Even when people have supply of piped water, they do not have access to continuous supply of water.

In a scenario like this, residents of these cities rely on privately provided groundwater. Builders often illegally tap water in sites using a tube well. However, this may lead to depletion of ground water. It is possible that such towns extract more ground water than it is replenished by rain water.

The construction industry is often accused of wasting huge quantities of ground water. A few years ago, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) was directed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to not grant fresh licenses to developers to prevent dissipation of ground water.

Now, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pointed out that Noida and Greater Noida authorities have failed in retraining builders, who illegally extract groundwater. The city authorities have decided to form inspection teams and create a report within days. According to officials, builders who violate these rules would be strictly punished.

The NGT order came after hearing a plea of a Noida resident, who said that real estate developers were extracting groundwater violating rules. By building water mains to all parts of Noida, authorities can lower the price of real estate in Delhi because it will increase the supply of developed land. Consequently, the price of property in Noida would rise too.