Gurgaon, India’s aspiring lower Manhattan, may soon end up with no water, but overflowing sewage.
In 2006, the water level in Gurgaon had fallen to 51 metre below ground level. And if the water table plunges to 200 metre, the industrial and upscale residential township would be left with nothing but dry rocks, the Central Groundwater Board has projected.
A recent analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), however, suggests that this might happen sooner than later.
In its seventh State of India’s Environment report, ‘Excreta Matters’, the CSE points out huge gaps in water and sewage management in Gurgaon, which is “thinking malls and high-rises, but not water or sewage’’.
Official estimates say that in 2021, the township, with a population of 3.7 million, will have a water demand of 666 million litre per day (MLD). “Even with the upcoming Chandu Budhera plant, Gurgaon will only be able to treat and supply 573 MLD.
Additionally, by 2021, the township will be generating 533 MLD of sewage. But it will have a capacity to treat a mere 255 MLD, presenting the frightening prospect of sewage overflows,’’ says CSE, which released its findings in Gurgaon on Thursday.
Water, sewage management
What is hampering water and sewage management planning the most is the lack of data. “The last estimation of water use happened in 1999: it predicted that by 2025, cities and industries would account for 15 per cent of the total water used in the country,’’ says the report.
CSE quotes an estimation done by the Joint Association of Federation of Residents Welfare Associations that put the 2021 demand at 1,080 MLD.
“The shortfall in water supply will be met by groundwater, dependence on which will grow manifold. Already, over 250 construction projects across the city have been extracting groundwater with abandon,’’ it says.
The report called for using correct technology, planning for cost recovery and resource sustainability (by using meters, for instance), building and renewing local water resources and designing sewage systems differently. It also sought a law on right to clean water.