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‘Dead’ water bodies to come alive

NEW DELHI: The green city is finally giving its water bodies a serious thought with the Delhi Government’s Environment Department planning to begin its ambitious project of identifying and starting work on reviving its “dead” water bodies by giving it a productive “green cover”.

The Capital at one time boasted of several hundred water bodies that are vital for the well-being of the water-table and the environment. Many of them have vanished, having fallen prey to rapid urbanisation, growth of population and non-availability of dumping sites.

“The Government agencies have identified over 600 water bodies and after a joint inspection it was found that not all of them can be restored as some have been lost after land-owning agencies allotted them or because they have been encroached upon. A healthy water body is vital for a sound ecology and we understand that there is an urgent need to preserve it. With the water-table in the city dipping dangerously the project is vital to ensure that the city has enough groundwater,” said D.M. Shukla, Chief Wildlife Warden of the Dept. of Forests and Wildlife.

“We have been given a nine-point action plan to revive the water bodies and while some part of the work including clearing up of the ‘malba’, making rainwater harvesting structures have been completed, we are now working on using aquatic vegetation and trees to revive our ‘endangered’ water bodies,” added Mr. Shukla.

According to Delhi Environment Secretary J.K. Dadoo, 175 water bodies in rural areas are being greened. High Court advocate Arvind Sah, who is a member of the committee which inspected the ‘to-be-revived’ water bodies, said: “Development in the city often does not seem to go hand-in-hand with environmental protection. There are several water bodies that have disappeared because sewage and ‘malba’ is being dumped into the same. We are demanding that dead/dying water bodies be revived in a manner wherein soil erosion can be curtailed, water-table brought up and a healthy environment is provided to the city.”

Professor Emeritus at the Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Eco-system, Delhi University, C.R. Babu, said: “Restoration of the wetlands is one of our top-priorities and we have drawn up a list of aquatic vegetation that can be planted to improve the health of the area. Healthy wetland would mean a site for birds and aquatic life.”

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