Environmental fines to be used for water body revival in Delhi: DPCC to NGT

Delhi's pollution fines will fund water body restoration, with the DPCC directing funds to agencies for rejuvenation, as per NGT's action plan.

The environmental compensation (EC) fines collected by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) will be utilised to fund the rejuvenation of water bodies in the national capital, the body has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in a report dated March 18.

Delhi currently has about 1,000 recorded water bodies (HT)

The NGT had earlier directed the DPCC to devise an action plan for rejuvenating water bodies across the capital in consultation with the state wetland authority.

The report states that the chief secretary, after discussions with stakeholders, has directed the DPCC to allocate EC funds to district magistrates, who will route them to land-owning agencies such as the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for restoration of water bodies in their respective jurisdictions. This is subject to the condition that such water bodies are not already being taken up under the Gramoday scheme.

“The expenditure will be in accordance with the area of the water body and as per Government of India guidelines,” the report states.

The report further states that the entire EC amount collected from groundwater withdrawal violations will be used for this purpose. “DPCC has been directed to transfer EC received from groundwater violations and 25% of unutilised EC funds to district magistrates for expeditious utilisation,” it says.

A letter issued by the revenue department to district magistrates on February 12 states: “The council of ministers has decided that all concerned departments and land-owning agencies should implement the scheme for rejuvenation of water bodies… District magistrates are also requested to monitor progress across departments on a fortnightly basis.”

Delhi currently has about 1,000 recorded water bodies, but only a small fraction remain ecologically active, officials said. Many have been filled, built over, or disconnected from their natural catchments.

In January last year, the Union environment ministry informed the NGT that restoration of 1,367 water bodies across Delhi was being coordinated among various land-owning agencies. Of these, 631 were to be rejuvenated in the first phase by December 31, 2024, including encroachment removal, desilting, and clearing of invasive species, in line with directions of the Delhi High Court.

However, Delhi has struggled to conserve its water bodies. A 2021 count identified 1,045 sites, many of which were later found to be non-existent. In April this year, the Delhi government added 322 more based on satellite imagery, taking the total to 1,367.

On April 8 last year, the Delhi High Court directed the government to appraise all wetlands for maintenance by the end of 2024; a deadline that has since been missed.

On World Wetlands Day (February 2), environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, speaking at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, said efforts to protect water bodies were underway. He said boundaries of 856 water bodies had been identified and demarcated, while 174 had undergone revival and rejuvenation. Tenders had been floated for 22 more, and detailed estimates were being prepared for another 20.