Boom town gets realty check

This may be the first time when a court has stalled new construction in a city to ensure that underground water is not used for construction. Gurgaon's underground water table has reached an all-time low of 51 metres and the state has failed to put a check on this. Not just this, against an estimated demand of 200 million gallons per day (MGD), HUDA is able to supply just 51MGD, leaving residents with no other option but to rely on private water tankers.

"The court has observed that the state has not shown interest in augmenting supply, procuring additional water or water harvesting. As much as 60% of the city doesn't even have pipeline connectivity. The water crisis which Gurgaon faced this summer is only going to get worse. According to independent studies, the ground water level is depleting at a rate of 3 metres every year," said Nivedita Sharma, petitioners' lawyer.

Both environmentalists and residents have welcomed this far-reaching order, expressing the hope that now the state will wake up to the city's water needs. Similarly, construction is at the core of a fast-developing city like Gurgaon. Both the administration and builders need to find out viable alternatives to groundwater. "The government cannot be laid back and not formulate a constructive policy for water supply in a city like Gurgaon. They should also focus on recharging groundwater. Also, prices are market-driven. We might have some escalation if this continues in the long run," said Santhosh Kumar, CEO, Jones Lang LaSalle India.

No doubt thousands of home-buyers are trying to understand what this verdict means for them. Real estate analysts say this order may lead to further delay in housing projects, escalating cost for the end-user. This will not just affect the new projects, but also those that are underway.

"This order will give the builders a justification to increase prices even though the actual burden of the water cost, if they have to purchase from outside, may be a fraction of the entire cost of the project,' said Sanjay Sharma, managing director of QuBREX, a real estate analysis firm.

The developers said the government must develop alternative sources of water, like recycling of waste water. "The state should be liberal towards projects which have a 100% recharge and 0% discharge plan. The developers cannot shut shop," said Ravi Saund, COO of CHD Developers. 

Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com