NOIDA: The groundwater department has written to the AOA of Amrapali Leisure Valley society in Greater Noida West, asking it to shut down all private borewells in the next 15 days and submit a compliance report. The society was also fined Rs 5 lakh after about 50-60 unauthorized borewells were found to have been installed by villa owners.
“The society’s eight borewells, installed during its construction, will remain operational as they are the sole water source for the entire society. These borewells will continue to function uninterrupted to ensure a steady water supply for all residents. In contrast, the private borewells, which were installed by individual villa owners, are set to be decommissioned. The owners of these private borewells have been given a 15-day timeline to shut down their wells”, said Ankita Rai, hydrologist with the ground water department.
Amrapali Leisure Valley Society consists of approximately 800 villas, with 700 of them already handed over to the buyers. Despite this, the society has not yet been granted the completion certificate by the relevant authority. Moreover, GNIDA has not provided a water connection to the society. To address this issue, the AOA has been supplying water to all residents through the use of 8 shared borewells.
However, the AOA did not obtain the necessary permission from the groundwater department for these borewells. In addition to the AOA’s borewells, more than 50 villa owners within the society have also installed their own borewells. As a result, the groundwater department issued a notice to both the villa owners and the AOA, requesting a response. The AOA has since replied to the notice.
Rai went on to say that, according to the AOA, some of the shared borewells were installed by the builder and some by the NBCC. The AOA itself never installed any borewells. “At present, the responsibility of supplying water lies with NBCC. The AOA further pointed out that the builder is no longer involved in the project. Consequently, they believe that only NBCC can be held accountable and fined for any issues related to water supply,” said Rai.
According to departmental officials, a decision will be made in the matter soon, and steps will be taken to impose a fine on the responsible party. The groundwater department has also written to the Greater Noida Authority seeking a response on the water supply issue.
