Water bodies victim of buck passing
Delhi government’s deficient documentation and conservation of water bodies is famous. When new water bodies are acknowledged, even those are not conserved for the reason that nobody seems to know which agency is responsible for its maintenance.
Two water bodies are recently identified in Dhulsiras village near Dwarka, so they are not on government’s records, and are awaiting rejuvenation work because authorities are in doubt whether they are under purview of Delhi Development Authority or the forest department.
On June 7, 2013, LG constituted a committee with the task of identifying new water bodies in Dwarka to in turn raise the water-starved sub-city’s water table. A report has been submitted by Activist Diwan Singh and water expert Vikram Soni, who are part of the committee, stating that about 2 million gallons daily (MGD) can be added to the current water supply of 2MGD after these water bodies are revived.
The two water bodies are with forest department according to DDA. However chief conservator of forests AK Shukla says they are not. “After I got complaints that these two water bodies were drying up, because the owning agency couldn’t be identified, I checked our records. But these are surely not with the forest department nor is the forest patch surrounding it,” he said.
Singh added, “During the last two meetings of the committee I have been asking about revival of these two water bodies. They do not figure in any records but have possibly the best chances for revival than any other I have come across in Dwarka. But DDA has claimed they are with the forest department.”
In Dwarka Phase I, more than 20 new water bodies have been identified by the committee but work has not started on any because of a diversity of obstacles. Around eight water bodies do not have a “green land use”. The land on which these water bodies are located will be used either for commercial or residential purposes. Their land use will not be changed therefore the committee has been asked to ignore.
Singh further added, “Dwarka is water-starved and we cannot afford to lose even a single water body. For instance, in Sector 12 there is a historical baoli that is not being revived because its land use is not green. No wonder, a so called well-planned sub-city is parched.”
Source: Times of India
AK Shukla, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Government, Delhi water body, Dhulsiras village, Diwan Singh, Dwarka, The forest department, Vikram Soni, Water bodies
