GURGAON: As Haryana struggles with falling groundwater levels and recurring shortages of drinking water, an RTI inquiry has found that the state’s major thermal power plants continue to run on freshwater, not treated sewage water as required under policy.The disclosure is significant in a state facing an annual water deficit of nearly 14 billion cubic metres and where every large industrial draw adds to pressure on already strained water sources.The RTI replies suggested that across key thermal plants, the mandated shift to treated wastewater has either not happened or is not being properly recorded. Under the Centre’s tariff policy notified in 2016, thermal power plants within 50km of a sewage treatment plant must use treated wastewater for non-potable purposes. Haryana reinforced the objective in its 2019 wastewater reuse policy, asking industries to move away from freshwater wherever feasible.
Groundwater levels dip, but most plants yet to tap treated water
The RTI application, filed on Feb 19 by New Delhi-based activist Varun Gulati, sought plant-wise details from Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (HPGCL) on treated sewage water use, related infrastructure and agreements. The responses, however, repeatedly said “no data available” or “NIL”.At Panipat thermal power station, divisions CMDP-I, CMDP-II and CMD(C) said information on sewage water use “may be considered NIL”. At Rajiv Gandhi plant in Hisar, no records of treated sewage water use were disclosed. The planning division of Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram thermal power plant in Yamunanagar also marked its response as “NIL”.A consolidated reply issued by HPGCL on March 24 brought together inputs from six offices in a 14-page document. Yet, even in that compilation, key operational and planning divisions mentioned no available data on wastewater reuse.What was available was the scale of freshwater consumption. While Panipat plant uses about 90-100 million litres a day, Yamunanagar around 70-80 MLD, Hisar roughly 40-50 MLD, and the Jhajjar plant about 100-120 MLD. Together, they consume several hundred million litres of freshwater every day, with no documented transition to treated sewage water.The data is especially stark in a state already struggling to meet its water demand. While agriculture remains the biggest consumer of freshwater, thermal plants use vast quantities for cooling and ash handling – precisely the kind of non-potable use that the policy sought to shift to treated wastewater to protect drinking water and irrigation supplies.A Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) official insisted that thermal plants must minimise freshwater intake and use treated sewage water wherever STPs are available. These conditions, the official said, form part of environmental safeguards meant to reduce stress on groundwater and surface water sources.Gulati said the replies point to a serious failure of accountability. “Either Haryana’s thermal power plants are flouting a binding national mandate, or the utility has no mechanism to track water use. Both are unacceptable in a water-stressed state,” he said.The official pointed out that proven models already exist elsewhere.One such example is Maharashtra, where Nagpur Municipal Corporation and MAHAGENCO have for years supplied 150 MLD of tertiary-treated sewage water from the Bhandewadi STP to the Koradi and Khaperkheda thermal plants under long-term contracts.Fawzia Tarannum, co-founder and strategic lead at GuruJal, said Haryana’s zero use of treated wastewater reflects a deeper systems failure. She said the transition has been held back by weak conveyance infrastructure, pricing issues, poor institutional coordination and concerns over water quality consistency.“But in a water-stressed state, continued dependence on freshwater is a strategic risk to both energy and water security,” she warned.
