4 Gurgaon realtors fined Rs 5 crore for illegal groundwater extraction, borewells sealed after NGT order
Borewells and sump wells at these project sites, which are located in sectors 102, 103 and 37D, were also sealed, stated an inquiry report filed by HWRA chairperson Keshni Anand Arora to NGT.
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The case stems from a plea initiated in NGT in 2023 over groundwater violations in the city. A joint committee of NGT submitted its report confirming the violations in Nov 2023. "We imposed a Rs 5 crore penalty on four real estate projects in the city. Earlier, we had submitted a report on the violations to NGT," a senior HWRA official told TOI.
However, during a hearing in April this year, an NGT bench headed by Justice Prakash Shrivastava criticised the delay in enforcement by state authorities.
"The latest reply, dated April 22, 2025, filed by the CEO, HWRA, only mentions that show-cause notices and a reminder notice were issued to the realtors," the tribunal noted, adding that to ascertain if the borewells existed with due permission, only the document granting permission was required to be verified.
The tribunal raised concerns over why such a basic verification exercise had taken over a year to complete and directed HWRA to identify those responsible for the delay.
Arora, who holds the rank of additional chief secretary in Haryana govt, was assigned the task of identifying the officials responsible for these oversights.
HWRA's inquiry found that one of the project sites denied carrying out dewatering activities, but inspections revealed seven functional tubewells and confirmed the use of groundwater within the premises. Despite being issued 12 reminders online and 17 in writing, the realtor did not obtain the required no objection certificate (NOC).
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Another site, which submitted an application for dewatering permission in Nov 2023, lacked a mandatory impact assessment report, which is essential for evaluating environmental implications and planning the safe disposal of extracted water.
Inspections at the third project uncovered several tube wells, including two located outside the main complex, which were later sealed. In a separate case, the project proponent failed to appear for any of the HWRA's scheduled hearings, and their application for NOC is still pending.
The case is next scheduled to be heard by NGT on July 7.
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