How Gurugram’s DLF Phase 1 grappled with the water crisis and came out on top

While Gurugram grapples with the lack of water supply year after year with no resolution in sight, the residents of most of DLF Phase 1 have, over the last five years, been able to tide over the crisis.

Residents of the colony, which is at the tail-end of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority’s (GMDA) supply pipeline, said they suffered from extreme shortage until the summer of 2017, with water either not reaching them or being provided in very small quantities. Today, however, they have enough water to meet their needs.

The catalyst that brought about this change, however, was not the administration but the residents’ welfare association (RWA) of the colony, which, after several failed attempts to seek help from the authorities, took matters into its own hands.

Developed in the 1980s, DLF Phase 1 is one of the oldest townships in Gurugram. According to the RWA, it has a population of over 12,000. Until five years ago, water in the neighbourhood was in short supply, especially during the peak summer months of April and May. Matters came to a head in May 2016 and 2017, when the area either didn’t receive water or received a very measly amount.

“Authorities developed almost all the water lines in our township 40 years ago. Apart from being incapable of sustaining the increase in population in the area, they also developed leakages and eroded over time. As a result, there was a crisis, especially during the peak summer months,” said Dhruv Bansal, spokesperson of the DLF Qutub Enclave RWA (QERWA).

Residents approached the administration regarding the matter, even resorting to protests outside the mini secretariat. While the administration did provide them with water tankers to resolve the issue temporarily, they did not give them a long-term, permanent solution.

This experience became a turning point for the RWA, which then decided to overhaul its water management system.

Among the RWA’s most effective measures was the creation of rainwater harvesting pits. It created such pits in all 20 parks under its jurisdiction and made it mandatory for residents constructing new houses or undertaking large-scale renovations in their homes to develop harvesting pits on their plots. As a result of the mandate, there are over 140 rainwater harvesting pits in residences as well.

“We developed rainwater harvesting pits to ensure residents use minimal freshwater for horticulture purposes and that the water in the township is primarily reserved for domestic use,” said Bansal.

The RWA also dictated that builders constructing or renovating any structure must use only treated water, failing which they would have to face action.

To spread awareness and encourage conservation, the RWA also created a vigilance team to pull up residents wasting water.

“The vigilance teams would click pictures of residents, who used piped water to clean driveways or cars or to water plants, and upload them on the society’s WhatsApp groups. This helped create awareness among residents and made them wary of violating the rules again,” said Bansal.

“On average, the vigilance team, even today, spots 20-30 violations daily. However, this is much better than before when there used to be over 100 violations every day,” he said.

However, some challenges still remain, primary among them the inability of the RWA to enforce a monetary penalty for violations.

Part of this issue has been resolved with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) issuing an order last month that mandates builders must use recycled water for construction purposes in DLF Phases 1 to 5. Violation of this direction would lead to penalties amounting to ₹25,000. The RWA still has no power to impose monetary penalties on residents wasting water.

Another challenge, RWA members say, is the defunct sewage treatment plant.

“We planned to use the water from the STP to wash cars in the colony, water green belts, and for dust mitigation during peak pollution months when roads need to be sprinkled with water,” said Bansal.

“But due to a lack of funds, we have not been able to repair the STP. We are waiting for the MCG to take over the colony, following which we hope the issue will be addressed,” he said.

DLF Phase 1, along with Phases 2 and 3, is in the process of being taken over by the civic body from the developer.

Even as they wait for these issues to be resolved, residents of the area say they are in a much better position now than they were a few years ago. According to the RWA members, because of these measures, most of the colony received uninterrupted water in 2020 and 2021, even when lockdowns were in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, indicating the steps taken so far have been effective.

“The situation in the colony has completely transformed in the last five years. Earlier, we would have to keep a list of water tanker operators ready during the peak summer season to buy water from. Over the past three years, we have faced water-related issues only 4-5 times. There is a conscious effort on the RWA’s part as well as residents to conserve water,” said Kamaldeep Singh, a resident of DLF Phase 1.