Ratan Katwal, president of the Malibu Town Condominium RWA, said: “Unmindful issuing of licence to builders and not fixing limits to drawing of groundwater are responsible for the present situation. If immediate action is not taken, it may get worse. We do not get commissioned water and draw it from tubewells, but we know that our gain is someone else’s loss.” After the completion of a project, the licensing authorities hardly conduct any survey to check if the guidelines to conserve water are adhered to.

HUDA Administrator G Anupama said: “I am not aware of any post-completion surveys conducted in the recent past. It is a mandate at the planning stage to have rainwater harvesting systems in residential areas and additional sewage treatment plants in commercial areas.”

The Haryana Urban Development Authority supplies 32 MGD (million gallons per day) of water from the Basai canal to Gurgaon while 5 MGD is drawn from tubewells. The Public Health Department supplies 7 MGD of water to the old Gurgaon area.