To address the problem of water shortage in the city, the district administration is likely to launch a project called Guru-Jal later this month.

The project is meant to study water mismanagement in the city and will include data collation and constant monitoring of ongoing water-related projects under different government departments by a 15-member project management unit (PMU).

The team will look at overall water management, monitoring and evaluation to address the issues of depleting groundwater level and urban flooding during the monsoon season. It will look for ways to rejuvenate tens of natural water bodies in the city.

The PMU will consist of members from the department of revenue, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram and the Haryana Space Applications Centre.

Besides, representatives from departments of forest, public works, agriculture, marketing board, irrigation and pond authority, among others, will also be a part of the project that attempts to make Gurugram a “water-conscious district”.

“The problem of water management needs to be addressed urgently but cannot be done in pockets by an individual department, an organisation or a single community. It needs to be looked at and addressed in a collective manner on a long-term basis. The PMU will serve our purpose,” said deputy commissioner Amit Khatri, who will also be the chairperson of the PMU.

He said that the preparation for the project is underway and a repository of all possible questions and parameters that affect water management is being created.

Currently, the city has been declared a ‘dark zone’ by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) because of heavy ground extraction.

Rapid urbanisation, high population density, high rate of surface runoff, and drastic change in nature of the landscape lead to floods on arterial roads each year during the monsoons, causing inconvenience to citizens.

“Our effort is to increase water management efficiency. The objective is to devise effective solutions after collecting accurate data and later conducting in-depth analysis.Research of the problem and cost-
effective solutions will lead to reduced implementation cost,” Khatri said.

Currently, the estimated cost of the project is above Rs5 crore, with an immediate need is of Rs1 crore in 2019 for management, monitoring, and evaluation. The project will also include private players. “Private players will be partnering through their CSR contributions,” Khatri said.

First Published: May 11, 2019 00:45 IST