Realty boom bane of Noida water table? (Hindustan Times 27 August 2012)

The emergence of Noida and Greater Noida as real estate destinations has fuelled a surge in water guzzling construction activities in these cities. Experts say, on an average, a developer extracts 2 lakh litres of water a day. With more than 200 big-ticket projects coming up in Noida and

Greater Noida, the impact on the region's water table is anybody's guess.

Members of Noida Greens, an NGO, which conducted a survey on groundwater depletion in the twin cities, found that developers, to lay foundation for high-rises, extract water and dump it into drains, as Noida's soil is loamy and moist.

In 2004, the water table of Gautam Budh Nagar district (consisting Noida and Greater Noida areas) was bracketed in the 'safe' category.

Later, in 2009, it slipped into 'semi-critical' zone.

At this rate, in the next three years, it will slip into 'critical' zone, say experts of Jamia Mila engineering department.

No developers have taken no-objection certificates from the CGWA for de-watering plots. Builders say they would recycle this water. "No builder in the district has got the permission to dump groundwater into drains," said Vikrant Tongad of Noida Greens, an NGO. 

"The district magistrate is responsible for preventing builders from exploiting groundwater," said VA Devpujari, the chief architect and town planner, Noida authority. District magistrate MKS Sundaram was unavailable for comments. 

Industries fail to do their  bit
Although Noida authority's building bylaw makes it mandatory for industrial units in the city to set up rainwater harvesting projects in their premises, only 76 out of 7,000 units have so far complied with the rule.

Environmentalists are up in arms as the authorities have done precious little to promote conservation of groundwater. But the authorities are putting up a brave front, saying that all's well.

"We do not keep any record of how many people follow the rule. If a builder failed to adhere to the prescribed norms, we do not issue completion certificate to his building," said Devpujari.

The statements by the officials fail to cloak their lackadaisical attitude in dealing with the impending danger.

According to Noida's building bylaw, a building with a built-up area of 100 sqm should have a water harvesting project. But the district headquarters building built on an area of about 2,000 sqm does not have a rainwater harvesting project.

"Noida's groundwater is dipping at an alarming level. In a matter of few years, it will be worse than in Gurgaon, where water table dips at the rate of 1.2m a year. With construction activity gaining momentum in Greater Noida – at present water table in the industrial township goes down by 20cm a year – water will be a scare resource in the region," said an official of Noida Greens.

Even industrialists are unaware of the law. "Ground water conservation is almost zilch in Noida. We are all set to file a public interest litigation in national green tribunal (NGT) to save our natural resources because builders, industrialists and authorities are not concerned," said Vikrant Tongad of Noida Greens.

The UP government, on April 25, 2006, had ordered that all industrial/institutional /commercial/residential projects with a plot area of 300 sqm should set up rainwater harvesting projects.

But the district administration is yet to enforce the government order.

Later, the state government revised its order and made it mandatory for all residential projects with 200sqm built-up area to establish harvesting pits. Subsequently, to promote conservation, Noida and Greater Noida authorities further reduced the built-up area to 100sqm. But these agencies never enforced the rule.

Noida industrialists dismiss the NGO's claim.

Harmful air in Mayur Vihar, Noida (The Times of India 24 August 2012)

NOIDA: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has found that presence of harmful pollutants in air within a range of 15km from Noida, which includes Mayur Vihar and portions of Ghaziabad, is more than seven times the normal limit. The report was submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday in the case regarding a stay order on establishing new industries or extending existing ones in Noida without the tribunal's approval due to unbridled pollution caused by industries in the region.

The new CPCB report, a copy of which is with TOI, was presented to the tribunal after the central pollution monitoring body was asked to further analyse air-quality data collated by it in April-June this year. The new report is an analysis of composition of particulate matter in air over residential areas including Noida, Gazipur, Vasundhara, Indirapuram and Mayur Vihar Phase-I.

As per the report, the average level of Benzo(a)Pyrene, a hydrocarbon mostly found in coal tar, in the air over these regions is 7.82 nanograms (ng) per cubic metre of air as compared to the permissible limit of 1ng per cubic metre.

The substance is listed as a Group-I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an inter-governmental agency under the World Health Organization. CPCB has noted in the report that the presence of the compound can be attributed to "vehicular emission and fossil fuel burning".

However, the analysis has not traced any significant presence of heavy metals like arsenic, nickel and lead in the same air. CPCB has also conducted a rapid assessment of the list of air-polluting industries in Noida submitted to the tribunal by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB).

As per the findings of the 12 industries inspected, the CPCB has found that particulate matter emissions were within permissible limits in five industries while six did not have adequate monitoring facilities. "Between November this year and February, 2013, an extensive survey would be conducted of areas including Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad to assess the impact of the action plans initiated by respective state governments to reduce pollution levels," said an official of CPCB.

Industries in Noida have, meanwhile, maintained that the main sources of pollution in Noida and adjoining regions are automobiles and construction works.

Causes of pollution have also been attributed to drains flowing through Noida by industrialists.

Deluge woes (The Hindu 24 August 2012)

The Hindu Vulnerable: Kolkata exposed to flood risk. Photo:Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

Most major coastal cities are poorly equipped to tackle the threat of serious flooding, says study

Major coastal cities around the world face a grim possibility of serious flooding with Shanghai being the most vulnerable of all cities. A new study of nine coastal cities around the world suggests that Kolkata in India could experience coastal flooding as the city is built on river delta.

These finding are based on a new method to calculate the flood vulnerability of cities, developed by a team of researchers from the Netherlands and the University of Leeds. The work is published in the latest edition of the journal Natural Hazards.

The index does not just look at the likelihood of a city’s exposure to a major ‘once in a hundred years’ flood but includes social and economic factors in their calculations. The index incorporates 19 components, including measures of the level of economic activity in a city, its speed of recovery, and social issues such as the number of flood shelters, the awareness of people about flood risks and the number of disabled people in the population. Several index components also look at the level of administrative involvement in flood management.

The researchers used their index to analyse the vulnerability to coastal flooding of nine cities built on river deltas: Casablanca (Morocco), Kolkata (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Osaka (Japan), Shanghai (China), Manila (Philippines), Marseille (France) and Rotterdam (Netherland).

The results of the analysis reveal that the highly prosperous megapolis of Shanghai is more vulnerable than much poorer cities such as Dhaka. “Vulnerability is a complex issue,” explains Professor Nigel Wright, who led the team from the University of Leeds. “It is not just about your exposure to flooding, but the effect it actually has on communities and business and how much a major flood disrupts economic activity. Our index looks at how cities are prepared for the worst – for example, do they have flood defences, do they have buildings that are easy to clean up and repair after the flood? It is important to know how quickly a city can recover from a major flood.”

Shanghai is particularly vulnerable because it is exposed to powerful storm surges and the land is subsiding as sea levels rise. Moreover, although a large population lives along the coast in flood-prone areas, the city is poorly prepared, with little resilience to a major flood and insufficient flood shelters for victims. “A one-in-100 years flood in Shanghai would lead to widespread damage, with serious consequences for the city, across China and, through wider economic links, for the whole world,” Professor Wright says.

The vulnerability index also revealed that Dhaka, which sits just metres above current sea levels, is regularly hit by tropical cyclones and floods, yet it has few defences in place and little resilience. Manila and Kolkata are highly vulnerable mainly because of their large populations and degree of exposure to storms.

The European cities of Marseille and Rotterdam are also exposed to flood risks, with violent storms, high river levels and significant low-lying areas. But the cities are least vulnerable with good flood management infrastructure and tight building regulations for flood-prone areas. “When a big flood hits you will still get flooding,” says Professor Wright, “but these European cities will bounce back quickly.”

Experts reject privatisation of water supply as panacea to Delhi’s woes (Hindi 22 August 2012)

Say Govt. must focus on making the most of available resources

As Delhi gets ready to implement public-private partnership models in the city to plug water and revenue leaks and ensure round-the-clock supply, water conservation experts want the Administration to look beyond dams and private companies and focus instead on water harvesting, recycling and off-channel reservoirs.

“Delhi has a very high per capita water supply, what it lacks is management,” pointed out Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People, a network of individuals and organisations working on water-related issues.

Blaming the Delhi Jal Board, the utility that supplies water to the city, for failing to “democratise” its functioning, Mr. Thakkar said: “PPP projects have failed globally; it is shocking to see the Planning Commission push for a model which has not been successful anywhere.”

“No attempts have been made to address Delhi’s water problems -- poor quality, inequitable distribution, revenue and distribution losses. The Government instead is bringing in private companies that will only accentuate the existing problems,” he added.

Manoj Misra of non-government organisation Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has drawn up an exhaustive list of suggestions that can alleviate the city’s water woes. “We have to consider revision of the Master Plan together with other water conservation ideas to ensure water security for the city. For instance, Zone P II is part of the original flood plain of the Yamuna in Delhi. Situated on the northern portions of Delhi, it is higher than the rest of the city, which makes it ideal for consideration as a suitable location for off-channel reservoirs to store river water during the monsoon months. Being a part of the floodplain of the river it is unsuitable for permanent and planned human settlements. Zones O (Yamuna floodplains) and P II should be taken together and preserved as a water sanctuary,” he said.

Mr. Misra also suggests “strict protection” of the Delhi Ridge and the Yamuna floodplains in the city and restoration of “lost rivers, Sahibi and Barapula” and other water bodies in the city. “There are 22 storm water drains in the city and these must be restored from their current status of sewage drains. Rainwater harvesting, the way it is done in Chennai, should be made mandatory and a part of the city culture for not just new buildings but all the existing buildings within a strict time-frame. Storm water drains that are part of the rainwater harvesting and natural drainage system in the city must not be ‘covered and converted’ under any circumstances,” he said.

Experts also stress on water recycling and re-use. “What is being done in the name of harvesting is lip service. There is no restraint on pollution despite the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, enforced. No one is worried why the city’s 17 sewage treatment plants do not function to their full capacity. The whole focus seems to be on bringing in private players,” complained Mr. Thakkar.

Use of “grey water” can reduce the city’s dependence on raw water. “Imagine with almost 600 MGD of recycled grey water (of a total of around 850 MGD of available water) available for non-potable needs, would this city ever be short of adequate water?” questioned Mr. Misra.

On the issue of building new dams for ensuring more water for the city, Mr. Misra said the Government should consider exploring the option of raising off-channel reservoirs in Zone P II. “There are many cities (London in UK the most obvious example) in the world that today resorts to storing ‘storm time’ water from their rivers in such reservoirs. But before this option is considered it would be of utmost necessity to frame suitable payment (in perpetuity) arrangement for the affected people and farmers in form of payment for ecological/economic services (PES) that the city must be ready to pay to the adversely affected persons.

The advantage of this scheme will be that since Zone P II is at a higher elevation than the rest of the city, pumping costs from the reservoir will be minimal (gravity having taken care of most), if any,” he said.

Questioning the Government’s proposal to bring in private companies to improve the city’s water management, Mr. Misra said: “Delhi remains one of the better supplied cities in the world in terms of its water needs. At 50 gallons (220 litres) average supplies per person per day as the DJB itself claims, there is no reason for the city to ask for more.

But what is actually required is better management of the available water in the city.

And before anyone mistakes this for privatisation of water supplies in the city, we believe that water as an essential life sustaining entity should never be allowed to become a planned part of the market system. It is part of the State’s fundamental duties to provide wholesome and adequate water to its citizens and non-humans alike and this duty cannot and should not be outsourced.”

Dead River Became Alive (22 August 2012 Amar Ujala)

Near their largest dam lie the driest villages (Hindustan Times 21 August 2012)

What does it mean to live a few kilometres away from the biggest dam in your region but not have any of its water in your village? Ask the villagers of Paithan, for whom the administration's inexplicable water economics hurts more than the drought almost every year.

Paithan, to the world outside, is home to the famous Paithani saree that Maharashtrian brides desire in their trousseau; Paithan is also home to the Jayakwadi dam, one of the biggest dams in Maharashtra. The proximity of the dam underscores the irony of their water woes.

A major part of Paithan's vast rural belt, a few kilometres away from the dam, doesn't get water from this dam. Instead, ironically, water from the Jayakwadi dam is carried to areas far away from the dam: Aurangabad city, neighbouring district of Jalna and even Parbhani, lying 208 km away.

The dam, with a width of nearly 10 km, is one of the biggest in central Maharashtra. It can store up to 2,170.94 million cubic metres of water.

Despite this, villages around the dam itself are dry. This skewed distribution perplexes locals who ask the obvious question: why, at least some water from the Jayakwadi dam cannot be routed to their villages that regularly witness drought-like conditions. Says Sunil Rathod, an ex-sarpanch of the Tekdi tanda village, a hamlet in the Paithan district, "We are a few kilometres away from the dam, but are forced to depend on wells and bore wells for our daily supply of water."

Locals said that a village in the area can get water from the dam if it enjoys some political backing. For instance, Dongaon, next to Tekdi tanda, has direct pipelines from the dam.

Rajiv Shinde, tehsildar, admits that the lack of water to Paithan's villages is a problem, but says that such villages are covered by 'individual schemes' — a bureaucratic term to mean steps taken to ensure water supply to a single village.

At Tekri tanda, however, even this term is a fig leaf. In the name of a scheme, the government has laid a pipeline from a well, a kilometre and a half away. Nothing wrong, except that it's a 0.5 inch pipeline, supplying barely enough for a few families.

Tekdi tanda's anguish is shared by most villages around the dam, which have been deprived of the water that they think is rightfully theirs. Porgaon, a village with 1,800 residents, has to depend on one government well, which is drying up fast.

Pradeep Purandare, a retired associate professor from the Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI) in Aurangabad said, "Villages that have a strong political network can draw more than what they need, while those lacking a network are left to fend for themselves."

‘Why Yamuna being used as dump yard? (Times of India 17 August 2012)

NEW DELHI: After years of efforts to save Yamuna from getting choked by pollution, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) about the steps it had taken to reduce pollution in the river.

With each of the trifurcated Municipal Corporation of Delhi branches shifting blame on to the Delhi government and Delhi Jal Board for the present state of the river, a bench of Justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar said if their claims were true, then why was the river being used as a garbage dump.

But it focused on the statutory powers of the CPCB and asked counsel Vijay Panjwani to list the steps the board had taken to keep the river free of pollutants.

The apex court bench asked the counsel to inform the court in two weeks on the steps it had taken to enforce its statutory powers to protect the river.