Columbia students to study depleting groundwater levels

GURUGRAM: With an aim to increase the groundwater level in the district by 5 metres in five years, Columbia University, in collaboration with Gurujal society, under the supervision of district administration will conduct a study to find out effective ways to recharge the depleting groundwater levels.
Under this project, the students of Columbia University will review the existing measures taken for water harvesting in the district and present their suggestions for improvement.
Deputy commissioner Yash Garg said that the depleting groundwater level in the city is a matter of concern.
“Water is a precious resource and keeping in view the future demand it will only increase further. Therefore, we need to preserve it from now onwards which is why we are planning ahead. We are taking whatever expertise we can get, which is good and help the city to preserve the water,” Garg said.
According to the Central Ground Water Board report of block-wise groundwater resource assessment 2020, all the blocks in the district, including Gurgaon, Pataudi, Sohna and Farrukhnagar, are over-exploited.
Elaborating on the other initiatives taken by the administration to address the issue, Garg said, “We have identified the ponds and are working in a phase-wise manner to revive them. Besides, Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon ((MCG), Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the district administration is working in tandem to increase the rain harvesting structures across the city. Moreover, we are stressing upon catch the rain at the maximum level and using it to recharge the groundwater. GMDA is also working towards increasing the usage of recycled water from sewage treatment plants (STP), so that the fresh water can be utilised for drinking purposes.”
“The multiple agencies in the city are working together to frame a water security plan for the entire district. In the rural area, the work has already been started under the Atal Bhujal Yojna and for the urban area, the GMDA will be framing the water security plan,” he added.
Narendra Sarwan, member secretary of Gurujal Society and district development and panchayat officer said that the data of all the projects being carried out by Gurujal Society for water harvesting has been made available to Columbia University.
“University students will visit the district after studying the data available by the society. The students would review the work done by the society for water harvesting in the district and present their suggestions for the scope of improvement by researching on various points. Moreover, students will also do research on how we can maintain the greenery of Aravalis,” Sarwan said.