An affidavit submitted in the Punjab and Haryana High Court has blasted the administration for shielding the city’s builders by falsely informing the court that only recycled water was being used for construction work in sectors 58 to 115.

“This is a blatant lie and we are going to charge the Gurgaon administration at the next hearing slated for August 26 in which we will request the court to ask the deputy commissioner (DC) of Gurgaon to give proof of his claim,” said lawyer Nivedita Sharma, who submitted the affidavit.

DC Shekhar Vidyarthi, in an affidavit submitted at the high court on Monday, had said that 428 builders were using only water from the Huda sewage treatment plant (STP) or from their own STPs after getting verification from the Huda. “It has been verified by the senior town planner that groundwater is not being used for construction work on any sites,” the DC had said.

Sharma’s affidavit points out that recycled water cannot be used for construction purpose without tertiary treatment and that most Gurgaon-based builders do not have such a plant.

The Huda had said that it supplied 1.5 million gallons per day (MGD) recycled water against a daily demand of 9 MGD for construction.

The lawyer has questioned as to where the remaining 7.5 MGD water comes from when none of the builders have revealed their water source.

“When none of the builders have their own plant to give tertiary treatment to the sewage treatment plant water, is it not an open secret that they (builders) are using groundwater which is used for construction work,” the affidavit asked.

“Most of these construction sites are coming up along the northern peripheral road (NPR) and none of these sites or sectors is connected with Huda’s water supply network. What is happening now is that the builders have their own borewells that are covered and protected by goons or bouncers and no one is allowed to go near and check,” said Sharma.

The affidavit said that the Gurgaon administration had not given documentary proof in the court that 428 construction sites had their own tertiary treatment plants and that they generated enough sewage water and treated them on secondary and tertiary levels to make it fit for construction purposes.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/gurgaon/Admin-claim-on-groundwater-a-lie/Article1-1106428.aspx