How Community-Owned Dug Wells Are Recharging Gurugram’s Groundwater
At a time when Gurugram’s rapid urbanisation has pushed its groundwater reserves to alarming depths, the Roots & Recharge Symposium, held at the India Habitat Centre, offered a timely reminder that solutions to the city’s water crisis may lie in its past. Organised by GuruJal, an initiative of Abhipsa Foundation, in collaboration with Wipro Foundation, the symposium brought together policymakers, groundwater experts, CSR leaders, community representatives and students to explore how traditional water systems can be revived to build future resilience.
Central to the discussions was a landmark district-wide study titled Comprehensive Inventory and Revival of Dug Wells in Gurugram District for Enhanced Water Security. The survey documented 424 dug wells across more than 200 villages, revealing a stark picture of neglect: over 330 wells are inactive, only 3 per cent are connected to rainwater harvesting systems, and 282 wells have been filled with waste. Alarmingly, many wells are contaminated by nearby wastewater ponds, while only 13 still contain freshwater.
These findings mirror Gurugram’s broader groundwater crisis. Once sustained by shallow aquifers and community-managed wells, the district has seen groundwater levels decline from 6.64 to 36.99 metres below ground level over the last 50 years. As borewells run dry and piped water struggles to keep pace with demand, the need to harness local recharge systems has never been more urgent.
The symposium highlighted two revival pilots—the Daulatabad and Khandewla wells, as evidence that community engagement can breathe new life into abandoned structures. Restored with local participation, both wells were converted into rainwater recharge systems, channelising rooftop runoff from nearby homes. In Khandewla, the revival went beyond engineering.
A traditional Kuan Poojan ceremony reconnected residents with the well as a shared cultural space, bringing elders and youth together and restoring a sense of collective ownership.
Speakers repeatedly stressed that infrastructure alone cannot solve groundwater depletion. Community-inclusive governance, tailored to local hydrogeology, is essential. Government representatives underlined the importance of traditional recharge sources in complementing national programmes, while CSR leaders noted that projects rooted in community ownership and technical soundness are most likely to scale sustainably.
The event also saw the launch of Wells of Gurugram, a coffee table book documenting the region’s disappearing water heritage through field stories and photographs. Students, panchayat leaders and practitioners discussed how dry wells can be transformed from forgotten pits into living assets, if communities are empowered to care for them.
By the close of the symposium, a clear consensus had emerged: Gurugram’s groundwater future depends on reviving its wells, not just as recharge structures, but as community anchors. Integrating well rejuvenation into district planning, building collaborative financing models, and anchoring stewardship in cultural practices could help ensure that water, once again, flows from the ground up.
Speaking at the event, Ankita Chakravarty, Deputy Secretary, National Jal Jeevan Mission, discussed how the government successfully launched the ‘Har Ghar Nal’ campaign and urged participants to build water-focused communities. Victor Shinde of the National Institute of Urban Affairs also remarked that we are at a critical point in history, where we urgently need to get our water story right, as it is directly related to food and energy security.
