GURUGRAM: The Haryana Water Resources Authority (HWRA) has imposed a fine of ₹5 crore on four real estate developers in Gurugram for unauthorized groundwater extraction, following a directive from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
According to an inquiry report by HWRA chairperson Keshni Anand Arora submitted to the NGT, borewells and sump wells at multiple project sites in sectors 102, 103, and 37D have been sealed.
The case originates from a petition filed with the NGT in 2023 regarding groundwater violations in the region. A joint committee’s report confirming these violations was submitted in November 2023. “We have imposed a ₹5 crore penalty on four real estate projects in the city. A report regarding the violations was submitted to the NGT earlier,” a senior official from HWRA informed the Times of India.
However, during an April hearing, an NGT bench led by Justice Prakash Shrivastava expressed concern about the state’s slow enforcement actions. “The latest response from the HWRA CEO, dated April 22, 2025, merely stated that show-cause notices had been issued to the developers,” the tribunal remarked, emphasizing that to confirm the legality of borewells, a simple document verification was necessary. The tribunal questioned the year-long delay in this basic verification and directed HWRA to identify who was responsible for it. Arora, who serves as additional chief secretary in the Haryana government, has been tasked with this identification.
HWRA’s findings indicated that one of the project sites denied conducting dewatering activities, yet inspections revealed seven operational tubewells, confirming groundwater usage on-site. Despite receiving 12 online reminders and 17 written notices, the developer failed to secure the necessary no objection certificate (NOC).
Additionally, another site, which submitted a dewatering permission request in November 2023, was missing a crucial impact assessment report needed for evaluating environmental effects and safe water disposal planning.
Inspections at a third site uncovered multiple tube wells, including two outside the main premises, which have since been sealed. In another case, the project proponent did not attend any of HWRA’s scheduled hearings, leaving their NOC application pending.
The next NGT hearing regarding this matter is set for July 7.
