Illegal connections: Why colonies face water crisis in Gurgaon, forced to rely on tankers

GURGAON: Residents of several areas across the city have complained that while some households get water supply throughout the day, the rest struggle to get the basic amenity for hardly two to three hours despite paying for it. They have alleged that the authorities have failed to curb illegal water connections and pilferage of water, which has led to the shortage.

Illegal connections draw water directly from the main pipeline, affecting supply, GMDA officials said. For instance, the pressure flow at the GMDA’s master line along the road dividing sectors 38 and 32 is 154 cubic metres per hour. By the time it reaches the Sector 38 boosting station, the pressure drops to 70 cubic metres per hour, with 84 cubic metres unaccounted for, resulting in poor supply to houses located at the tail end of the area. Similarly, the boosting stations of Dayanand Colony, and sectors 12 and 31, among others, too get less water due to illegal connections.
Residents have accused the authorities of inaction on water theft. Ashok Yadav, president of Sector 38 RWA, said water theft has been going undetected with no provisions of punitive action. “We are getting only half of what we are supposed to get because of the indifferent attitude of the civic body. There is a persisting water crisis in the sector. Despite knowing about the illegal connections, the authorities are yet to act on it,” Yadav said.
The main water supplier in the city is GMDA, while MCG and HSIIDC ensure internal distribution to water networks in areas falling under their jurisdiction. In private colonies, the developer is responsible for the operation and maintenance of water supply. At present, GMDA is supplying 300 million litres a day (MLD) from the Chandu water treatment plant and another 270 MLD from the Basai plant.
Every year, with the onset of summer season, several areas in the city face acute water shortage, forcing them to depend on private water tankers or usage of borewells. The water pipelines of both GMDA and MCG have unauthorised connections which are undetected as well as unaccounted for, residents said.
Lalit Suraj Bhola, general secretary of Sector 9A RWA, said the residents of HSVP sectors and other planned colonies pay their water bills and still suffer from shortage, while people stealing water from the GMDA master lines and MCG lines are not only enjoying free water 24X7 but further selling it illegally and making money.
“Fresh potable water is being stolen and diverted to commercial use like RO water plants, dairies and car washing, and also sold through water tankers. We fail to understand why GMDA and MCG is not removing these illegal connections. The city is staring at a serious water crisis if these illegal connections are not dealt with on a war footing because of the wilful negligence of GMDA and MCG,” Bhola said.
Meanwhile, GMDA officials maintained that they have been regularly acting against illegal connections. Till date, GMDA has disconnected 55 illegal connections across the city, they said. “It is an ongoing process and our teams detect and disconnect any illegal connections, as this affects supply of areas which have sanctioned connections and are paying for water consumption. While we are responsible for the maintenance of the master supply line, ensuring that there are no illegal connections on the individual pipelines connected to boosting stations and underground tanks are the responsibility of the civic authorities and the developers concerned,” a senior official said.
MCG officials too said they are taking against water theft but finding illegal connections in the distribution network is a challenge as it requires more manpower than it currently has. At present, MCG has 1.9 lakh water consumers in the city, which is way short of the number of properties falling under its jurisdiction. MCG pays over Rs 80 crore to GMDA for water annually, while the revenue collection is around Rs 40 crore.
MCG commissioner PC Meena said, “We are carrying out an assessment for water billing as there are discrepancies in the actual number of users. We are focusing on covering our consumers and will synchronise water meters with property IDs to ensure commercial users pay commercial rates. The survey will also look into the aspect of illegal connections in the direct lines, which are not allowed and will be disconnected.”