Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday directed the state irrigation department to remodel the Gurugram Water Supply Channel (GWS) Project, replacing the proposed open channel with a fully covered 70-kilometre pipeline. This change has significantly increased the project’s cost from the initially estimated ₹1,500 crore to ₹3,000 crore, according to senior government officials present at the meeting.
The directions were issued during a review meeting on Gurugram’s infrastructure at the PWD Guest House, attended by senior officials from the state government, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), and the irrigation department.
Pipeline aimed to reduce water loss
“The CM has directed that the entire GWS project should be reviewed and remodelled within the next three months. To augment the raw water supply from Yamuna, the government plans to lay a pipeline from Kakroi to Basai instead of constructing an open canal. This pipeline project will cost ₹3,000 crore, and directions have been issued to ensure that the upcoming state budget includes financial provisions for it. The pipeline will have the capacity to supply 686 cusecs of water to the district,” said a senior government official present at the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Currently, the irrigation department supplies 570 million litres per day (MLD) of water to GMDA through the NCR water channel and the existing GWS water channel, officials said. The department had initially planned to reconstruct the GWS channel at a cost of ₹1,500 crore, but the project will now be modified as per government directives to replace the open canal with a pipeline, they added.
Officials stated that the shift to a pipeline-based system aims to minimise water loss and prevent theft along the 70-kilometre route from Kakroi Headworks to Basai. “This pipeline will also supply water to Bahadurgarh and other areas in Jhajjar along its route through a pressurised system, further reducing water losses,” the official added.
A government spokesperson confirmed the proposal, stating, “A plan has been proposed to redesign the canal and convert it into a pipeline, which will not only eliminate issues like water leakage but also ensure better water quality due to the covered structure. The total cost for this project is estimated at around ₹3,000 crore.”
GWS channel: Current state and planned expansion
The GWS Channel was originally constructed in 1992 to supply water to Gurugram and neighbouring areas, including Bahadurgarh, according to officials. It was designed for a discharge capacity of 135 cusecs, which was increased to 175 cusecs in 2006. However, due to significant structural damage at multiple locations, only 100 cusecs of water are currently being supplied through the channel to Gurugram, they added.
According to officials from the irrigation department, the proposed pipeline will expand the GWS channel’s capacity from 175 cusecs to 686 cusecs. One cusec is equivalent to 2.45 MLD, and since the irrigation department handles large water volumes, supply measurements are expressed in cusecs.
Under the earlier plan, the first 27 kilometres of the GWS channel was to be constructed as a box-type drain, while the remaining 42 kilometres was planned as a pressurised pipeline supplying water to Basai, officials said.
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