Gurgaon: The revival of
Badshapur drain — the main canal that helps drain out rainwater and avert floods in the city — seems to have run into a legal hurdle, ahead of the monsoon that is expected to arrive here this week.
Two city-based environmentalists Vaishali Rana Chandra and Sharmila Kaushik have slapped a legal notice on MCG and Huda for concretisation of many portions of the drain, including the stretch between Hero Honda Chowk and Khandsa village — the main choke point responsible for the 2016 Gurujam. They said the move would prevent groundwater recharging in the area even as heavy rainfall was expected in Delhi-NCR this season.
The
activists claimed the work, currently underway, violated an order passed by National Green Tribunal (NGT). “While dealing with the issue of illegal concretisation of storm water drains in Gurgaon in the case of Vinod Chopra vs Union of India and others (OA no. 226 of 2016), vide judgement dated July 24, 2017 directed that no further concretisation of storm water drains shall be allowed in Gurgaon,” read the legal notice (a copy of which is with TOI).
Moreover, the environmentalists alleged that sewage water was being diverted to Badshapur drain near Hero Honda Chowk that would eventually pollute precious storm water.
“It will lead to a major disaster. Due to the concretisation, not a single drop of rainwater will be harnessed for groundwater recharge in Gurgaon, which has already been listed as a dark zone by the Central Ground Water Board. Then, sewage water will destroy the ecosystem. The rainwater mixed with sewage will eventually flow into Najafgarh drain. The diversion of excess water to Najafgarh may cause flooding in Delhi,” argued Chandra, one of the petitioners.
The environmentalists also pointed out clogging of the drain with plastic bags. “The cemented pipes put up by the authorities to carry water from Badshapur drain are already choked on plastic waste. There is hardly any water in the drain by the time it reaches Khandsa. One heavy spell of rain will cause flooding in Khandsa area,” said Kaushik, another petitioner.
TOI team went on a reality check along the entire 28km-long drain and found that the concretised portion indeed has a reduced width (30 feet). Shockingly, no floodplain has been created by the authorities on this stretch.
“The drain, which had a carrying capacity of 2,200 cusecs earlier, has been narrowed down. It can now carry only 500 cusecs of water. Also, the authorities have not left any floodplain. This is a classic case of land grabbing. All those involved in the planning of this project, worth hundreds of crores, should be penalised,” said Vivek Kamboj from NGO Haryali.
“It is not an MCG project. Huda has made the box drain. I am not aware of any notice. We want to plant trees and make it a green patch,” said Yashpal Yadav, MCG commissioner, when contacted. Huda administrator Chandra Shekhar Khare didn’t comment.
Sources said Huda was facing major challenges in removing the hurdles for clearing land for the drain’s widening. “No deadline has been fixed for the project. The work will take at least two more months after the entire passage is cleared. Currently, residual remains of 15-odd demolished structures are still holding up the project. The work cannot proceed until MCG clears the stretch,” said an official at Huda.