Excerpt from DNA on Aug 9, 2010 By Sandeep Ashar: Read Full Article
To tackle the water supply crisis in the city, the civic administration has been flirting dangerously with groundwater reserves by digging borewells in areas where the water table is below normal, or where the water is polluted and saline, in violation of state norms.
A report of new borewells dug between January and June compiled by BMC’s hydraulic department shows that borewells have been dug in Mankhurd and Govandi in the eastern suburbs, and vulnerable parts of Bandra (E), and Andheri (W) in the west.
SK Gupta, a consultant geologist, who surveyed the groundwater table in these parts for the BMC, had asked the civic body to resist groundwater extraction in these areas. The civic administration has, however, given in to pressure exerted by elected representatives and citizens suffering water scarcity.
