Minister cites Joshimath, says city faces grave cave-in risks from depleting groundwater

Gurgaon: Union minister and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh urged the GMDA to conduct an assessment of wetlands to find out the impact on the environment if they are destroyed.
In a meeting with senior officials of the development authority on Wednesday, Singh expressed grave concern over depleting groundwater levels in the city. He drew parallels with Joshimath, the ‘sinking’ town in Uttarakhand where residents are being evacuated following wide cracks in their houses because of subsidence.
Admitting that aquifers in Gurgaon were overexploited, Singh warned that low groundwater levels would eventually make the soil loose and lead to cave-ins in the NCR city too.
“The assessment should find out the negative impact on the environment if the wetlands are destroyed. It should also list how these wetlands will be helpful for the residents and the environment if they are preserved properly,” Singh said at the meeting.
The minister said that just planting saplings was not enough to conserve the environment. “It is equally important to rejuvenate the waterbodies,” he added.
According to him, 19 of Haryana’s 22 districts, including Gurgaon, were in the ‘dark zone’ in terms of groundwater. “We are overexploiting the sources of water in Gurgaon…. If we recharge the groundwater with 100 litres, we extract 200 litres. If this continues, the moisture content in the soil will deteriorate and lead to cave-ins,” he warned.
Data sourced from the hydrology department shows that the groundwater level in the city has been falling consistently almost every year. From 6.6 metres in 1974, Gurgaon’s groundwater level dipped 26.3 metres in 2014 and 37 metres in 2021.
There are a number of areas where the groundwater has touched alarming levels. For instance, the water level in Dundahera has gone down to 115 metres, while it is 72 metres in Chakkarpur and 60.4 metres in Nathupur, a survey under the Centre’s Atal Bhujal Yojana has shown.
The MP insisted on the construction of more rainwater harvesting pits. “Gurgaon has many big structures. Installing rainwater harvesting pits in these structures will prove to be useful for recharging the groundwater,” he told the officials.
Officials of the municipal corporation, who were also present at the meet, informed Singh that there were around 400 rainwater harvesting systems in the civic body’s areas. According to norms, it is mandatory to have rainwater harvesting structures in buildings constructed over 500 square yards and above.
Subhash Yadav, the additional municipal commissioner, said 34 waterbodies of 74 in the city had been rejuvenated. “During monsoon, rainwater will be stored in these waterbodies. For the rest of the year, treated water from sewage plants will fill these waterbodies,” he said, adding that the civic body was laying pipelines to connect the waterbodies with STPs. Connections to some of them, he said, have already been made.
Sudhir Rajpal, the GMDA CEO, said the authority, too, was working on a plan to source treated water from STPs in Nuh, Damdama, Jhajjar and Najafgarh.