Greater Noida looks to ban deep digging for basements to protect water table
The authority said it will make the necessary amendments to the building by-laws in the next board meeting. Officials have recommended that builders construct stilt parking instead of multilevel basements
The Greater Noida authority is looking to ban deep digging to build basements of tall buildings as it results in wastage of groundwater, said officials in the know of the matter on Wednesday.
The move comes after the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate wrote to the authority about the rampant dewatering activities carried out by builders to build three to four level deep basements in each project thereby causing a huge loss of groundwater. Now the authority has asked realtors and other plot owners to build stilt parking in place of multilevel basements.
The authority also said it will make the necessary amendments to the building by-laws in the next board meeting.
“We have stopped the work at construction sites following complaints of excessive dewatering by plot owners. We have also requested the Greater Noida authority to discourage plot owners from digging deep. We hope that the authority will change its building by-laws soon,” said Manish Kumar Verma, district magistrate.
There are dozens of new projects, where the owners need to dig up to two or metres below ground for basements.
According to officials, to construct such basements, owners need to dewater the ground fully, to ready the foundation for the building. Since Greater Noida is surrounded by Hindon and Yamuna rivers, developers have to dewater excessively to lay the foundation for the basement. environmentalists objected to the heavy dewatering.
“We kept receiving complaints from the public and also environmentalists about the impact on groundwater health due to dewatering activities by developers and other plot owners. And now the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate also is of the view that the construction of such basements must be banned. Therefore we have decided to ban excessive digging as it has a huge negative impact on the environment. We will also bring amendments in building by-laws in the next board meeting,” said Ravi Kumar NG, chief executive officer of the Greater Noida authority.
The Greater Noida authority is of the view that the developers or others can make stilt parking, as per the requirement, above ground. And developers can obtain the required foundation strength by piling the pillars deep instead of digging, said authority officials.
“We have also issued directions to all government and private agencies asking them not to extract groundwater, and use only treated waste water for construction purposes. We have also banned new water connections in the district to protect groundwater. If any developer is found using groundwater for construction, we will seal such borewells,” said Verma.
The National Green Tribunal had banned extraction of groundwater by private agencies including builders for all purposes including construction on January 11, 2013, as a result of Greater Noida based Vikrant Tongad’s petition. Tongad.
“We have demanded a prohibition of digging for deep basements as it damages the groundwater. The Greater Noida authority must change the building by-laws if needed to ensure that digging for the deep basements is stopped,” said Vikrant Tongad, environmentalist.