In scorching summer, gap in water supply hits home

Gurgaon: The city is witnessing an acute water shortage in several areas, with GMDA and MCG struggling to meet the rising demand. Measures like water rationing, curbing water wastage and snapping illegal connections seem to be ineffective as residents are grappling with inadequate supply, especially those living in tail-end areas. Some residents are now planning to stage protests against the authorities.
The root cause of the problem lies in the existing shortfall of 105 MLD between demand and supply. The city’s peak water demand during summer is 675 million litres per day (MLD), while the combined capacity of the Basai and Chandu Budhera water treatment plants (WTPs) is 570 MLD.

There has been no capacity expansion of these plants since 2018, when GMDA came into existence. This, coupled with unchecked misuse of potable water and lack of upgrade in the internal distribution network by MCG, has left residents dependent on private tankers to meet their daily water needs. A few days ago, residents of some areas, including DLF-1, 2 and 3, staged protests demanding adequate water supply.
The problem is further exacerbated due to unreliable power supply at the treatment plants, which affect supply. For instance, GMDA was only able to supply 255 MLD water from the Basai WTP, against its capacity of 270 MLD, due to power tripping on Friday. From Chandu Budhera WTP, it supplied 285 MLD in place of 300MLD. According to the official, an outage of even one minute can affect operations for an hour, as it takes time for the filtration process to restart after power failure.
To bridge the shortfall, GMDA is working on the construction of a fourth filtration unit at the Chandu Budhera WTP, which is aimed at enhancing its capacity by 100 MLD. Progress on the project, however, has been sluggish and the new unit is unlikely to be commissioned before 2024 end.
Meanwhile, GMDA has asked MCG to take steps to curb water wastage in every ward and control potable water supply to unauthorised direct connections. A meeting was held to discuss water supply control on Friday, focusing on areas where direct water connections have been established in various colonies under the municipal corporation and in unauthorised colonies within a 900m radius of the IAF ammunition depot, without the required permissions.
According to GMDA, there is currently no mechanism to control water supply, leading to significant wastage of potable water in areas with direct connections from master water supply lines or rising mains which are intended to fill boosting stations in various colonies and villages. Moreover, unauthorised direct connections in colonies near the IAF depot and sectors 17, 31, 52 are also a major problem.
Another issue that residents are facing is mixing of sewage with potable water in several colonies, including Krishna Colony, Jyoti Park, Arjun Nagar, Roshanpura, Jacobpura and Nai Basti.
“Uncontrolled water usage has placed an undue strain on the existing water infrastructure. We have discussed this with MCG officials in order to ensure minimal wastage of potable water and to improve water supply to tail-end areas. We have requested them to take urgent action,” said Abhinav Verma, Executive Engineer, GMDA.
MCG recently decided to impose a fine of Rs 5,000 on anyone found wasting water. Repeated violations will result in the water connection being snapped and an additional fine of Rs 5,000. It has also shared details of officials that the residents can reach out to for water tankers. The corporation is also strengthening the internal water distribution system and testing water rationing.
“Directions have been issued to strengthen the internal water distribution infrastructure. Water rationing is also being tested so that every household gets some water,” a senior MCG official said.
Residents, meanwhile, blamed both GMDA and MCG for failing to ensure adequate water supply. “We recieved water only once on Friday. Even then, the pressure was low and inadequate for many houses at the tail-end. Sadly, MCG has taken no action whatsoever on illegal connections. They are instead cutting water supply to planned colonies. We are planning to hold a protest in front of the MCG office,” said Lalit Suraj Bhola, general secretary of Sector 9A RWA.
“In Sector 21, we continue to struggle for potable water due to inadequate supply from the Basai WTP,” said KL Sharma, general secretary of Sector 21 RWA.