Concerned over the ‘unusually’ high water table in a DDA colony in South-East Delhi that is allegedly posing threat to the buildings in the locality, the Delhi High Court has directed authorities to locate the reason. A Bench of Justices BD Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva issued the direction to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) to “independently” prepare “comprehensive” reports regarding the allegation of a resident of Siddharth Extension, near Ashram here, that the high water table is due to leakage from the DJB pipelines.
It said the reason has to be identified so that remedial measures can be taken and permitted DJB and CGWB to take the help of any other civic agency, like the municipal corporation concerned, to prepare their reports. The petitioner, Mohan lal Ahuja, has contended in his plea that the issue of high water table has persisted in the colony since 2011 and has caused extensive seepage to the foundation of the buildings there and could affect the structural integrity of the constructions coming up.
While DJB has admitted to the existence of a high water table, “It is admitted position that water table in the area is unusually high and can be found at 1.5 metre or less depth from the ground. The petitioner says it is due to leakage from pipelines of DJB, but there could be other reasons.”