GDA has taken measures against societies that do not have rainwater harvesting systems in place. Inspections indicated that out of more than 650 societies examined, numerous buildings lacked the system, while several had installations that were not operational. Building regulations require rainwater harvesting systems for plots or group housing societies larger than 300 sqm, and non-compliance may result in a penalty of up to Rs 3 lakh.
The enforcement team has been directed to conduct inspections in every zone, after which notices will be sent to those who have not installed the systems,” stated a GDA official. He further mentioned that many societies do not maintain their systems properly, resulting in non-functional rainwater harvesting systems; thus, they too must adhere to the regulations.
Meanwhile, the district administration is also planning to implement rainwater harvesting systems in all of its 189 buildings, with over 40 already equipped with such systems. According to the national report on Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India 2024, compiled by the Central Ground Water Board, the groundwater extraction rate was 124.04%, the highest among all 75 districts in the state.
The same report indicates that the total annual discharge in Ghaziabad for 2024 was 4282.21 hectare/m. Hydrologist Anikta Ray explained, “Annual discharge as per the report refers to the water that was wasted or did not infiltrate the ground due to factors such as concretisation.” In 2024, groundwater recharge in Ghaziabad was considerably greater during the monsoon season (15,558 Ham) compared to the non-monsoon period (539.38 Ham).
Nevertheless, the groundwater table in the city has been on a decline since 2017. Data reveals an average pre-monsoon depletion of 9.5 m and an average post-monsoon depletion of 8.64 m from 2017 to 2024.
