Come September,Gurgaon will have a sewage system that works

While the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) claims the city has approximately 110 km of sewer lines for a population of over 11 lakh within the corporation limits,the truth is that most of this is in patches and hence of not much use to many of the 58 sectors. The 130 million litres of sewage generated by the city everyday is sent to the two sewage treatment plants in Dhanwapur. The third plant at Behrampur is not yet fully operational because of litigation.

As of now,the new colonies on Golf Course Road and Sohna Road are yet to be connected to the main sewer line. For instance,DLF Phase I’s A block extension,DLF Phase V,Sun City,Sushant Lok II & III,Ardee City,Nirvana City,Rose City,Vatika City and Uppal South End still collect their sewage in septic tanks to be taken away by tankers daily. Stagnant sewage accumulated on the green belt has spilt over on to Sohna Road between the HUDA City Centre Metro Station on Subhash Chandra Road.

HUDA Superintendent Engineer Pankaj Kumra said residences and offices on Sohna Road and Golf Course Road are not connected to the network because of a stay order on the 100-metre plot. “We have recently got the stay on a cremation ground near S D High School on Sohna Road vacated by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. This was why the sewage system on this side of the Expressway could not be connected to the Behrampur plant,explained the engineer.

“Since the drains in the southern side of Gurgaon was laid almost two decades ago,never to be used,they have got chocked. So,along with laying the remaining portion of the line,we are also clearing all blocks so that the line can be made operational by September,” he said.

The two plants at Dhanwapur — a 68-MLD plant under HUDA and 32-MLD one under the Public Health department — now let out the treated residue via a 25-km channel for irrigation purposes in Gurgaon and Jhajjar districts. The remaining sludge is used as manure. The 50-MLD Behrampur plant,when operational in September,will connect to the Najafgarh drain to be linked to the Yamuna.

Filth on the road
Hero Honda Chowk on the National Highway 8 — the green belt as well as the service lane on both sides of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway — is under stagnant sewage water most of the year. The problem persists as 20-odd villages drain their sewage out into the stormwater drain of the Expressway which does not have any connectivity to the main sewerage line of HUDA. Since Hero Honda Chowk is the lowest point in the network,the water comes out through the manholes here,flooding the main carriageway.

Moreover,the natural drainage at Khandsa village has been blocked by residents who have constructed houses on it. HUDA is fighting to vacate the stay orders obtained by these villagers and wants to relocate them to open the Khandsa drain and connect it to the Dhanwapur plant.