Water alarm, from below the ground too. Rampant construction work in NCR has resulted in depletion of groundwater up to alarming levels. In reply to an RTI, Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has disclosed that the water level, in most parts of the region, is depleting rapidly.
The water table is reducing in areas where reports of illegal extraction of groundwater are high due to ongoing construction work. The authority has revealed that two blocks of Gautam Buddh Nagar district are in semi-critical stage while one block is in over-exploited category. In Ghaziabad, one block is in critical, two in semi-critical and one in over-exploited category. It has also been said that only five blocks of both districts are in the safe category.
As per the details provided by the CGWA in reply to application of Noida-based environmental activist Vikrant Tongad, the semi-critical zones of Gautam Buddh Nagar are Bisrakh and Dankaur. In Jewar block, the board has categorised the level of underground water table as over-exploited and only Dadri block has been categorised in the safe zone. The water level of this region is going down without permission of extraction of water for construction work and running packaged drinking water plant by the concerned authorities.
loni area of Ghaziabad, which is adjacent to national Capital, is over-exploited due to massive construction activities these days. Bhojpur, an area between Ghazibad and Hapur, has been categorised in the critical group. The construction work is on a large scale in this particular area. Two blocks namely Hapur and Simbholi have been categorised in the semi-critical. Murad Nagar, Garh, Dholna and Razapur are the blocks which are in the safe zones. It has also been furnished that CGWA has not given permission for operation of packaged drinking water plant in the entire district.
Vikrant Tongad, the RTI applicant, said the water level is not only reducing in major parts of NCR due to ongoing construction, the quality of water is also poor due to contamination. “Water is being removed by using tubewells while the local authorities are mum on this issue. The ponds and wetlands, which are main source of water recharge, have been filled by the builders which might create a water crisis in future,” said Tongad.