The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered agencies to examine Gurugram’s worsening groundwater crisis. The court warned of “disastrous consequences” if depletion continues.

Groundwater levels have fallen by nearly 40 metres in several areas. Annual extraction is twice the available groundwater resource, the court recorded.

The findings come from a Central Ground Water Board affidavit filed before the National Green Tribunal. The Haryana Water Resources Authority admitted the 40-metre drop.

A bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor issued the directions in an October 1 order. The court said the present generation holds natural resources in trust for the future.

The court has asked GMDA chief executive P C Meena to convene a high-level meeting on October 5. It will include the deputy commissioner, municipal officials and water authorities.

Representatives of TERI, resident welfare associations, DLF City and REDCO have also been invited.

The court called the situation “rather grim”. It wants detailed measures to halt further depletion of the city’s groundwater.