Golf Course Fined for Illegal Groundwater Extraction

June 25, 2020

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has given an interim fine of ₹25 lakh on the Noida Golf Course for groundwater extraction

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has given an interim fine of ₹25 lakh on the Noida Golf Course for allegedly illegally extracting groundwater through tube wells.

This same groundwater was used the same for horticulture purposes to meet its 500 kilo litres-per day (KLD) demand, according to the Hindustan Times.

The Noida Golf Course (NGC), which is situated at Sector 43, had been drawing groundwater through five different tube wells illegally and using it for horticulture use, including watering grasses and plants. According to the tribunal, the groundwater has been over-exploited for commercial purposes and is leading to the scarcity of drinking water.

The final assessment of total environmental damage is yet to be assessed, however, reported the Hindustan Times. 

Noida has a groundwater depletion rate of around two metres per year. According to the district groundwater department’s assessment in 2019, the average availability of water in Noida is 24 metres deep, while the availability at Sector 39, which is near the golf course, is 29.58 metres.

Officials at the golf club maintain that while the club had been closed due to the lockdown, that it is switching to alternate water resources and that the gold club has already stopped the use of groundwater by extraction. Instead, the gold club is now using treated water through the Noida authority. 

The quality of water conserved through the rainwater harvesting system in the golf course was also not up to par with hardness, and there are contents like Calcium, Arsenic, Copper, Lead, Chromium, Nickel, Iron and Manganese that exceed BIS standards, reported the Hindustan Times.

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Cristina Tuser