Upscale Gurgaon colony pumps out rainwater to save homes, gets FIR warning

On Monday afternoon, residents of Block A1 in Gurgaon’s South City II noticed rainwater flooding into their neighborhood. Within minutes, the entire colony road was submerged, prompting S C Sharma, a 72-year-old tax consultant, to activate emergency dewatering pumps to drain the water. Residents argued that they had no choice but to pump water out when the GMDA’s drains overflowed.

However, this action sparked a confrontation with the Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). On Tuesday, a GMDA official threatened to file an FIR against the residents for discharging water onto the main road. The South City II Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) complained to the GMDA Executive Engineer about recurrent waterlogging in the society that has impacted nearly 200 households.

The RWA claimed that heavy rain causes the master stormwater and sewer lines along Sector 47-49 to overflow, leading sewage and runoff to enter Block A1 through internal drainage lines and beneath the boundary wall. They emphasized that they only pump water when the government agencies fail to act. GMDA officials argued that surface drains are not designed to handle the high-volume discharge from residential complexes and warned residents against pumping water onto the road, stating that further violations could result in an FIR being filed.