Amrit Sarovars must be notified as wetlands, activists demand

Green groups claim that the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Amrit Sarovars project, aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of India, depends on the notification of these water bodies as wetlands for protection and conservation. They argue that wetlands are crucial for water conservation and provide various ecological services. So far, only a small fraction of the identified wetlands have been notified, leaving them vulnerable to development and degradation. The groups have called on the government to legally protect and conserve the Amrit Sarovars by designating them as wetlands.

NAVI MUMBAI

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The ambitious 80,000 odd Amrit Sarovars project envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi can go for a toss if the water bodies are not notified as wetlands for protection and conservation, green groups claim.

With a view to conserve water for the future, the Prime Minister has launched an initiative named Mission Amrit Sarovar on April 24, 2022. The Mission is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country as a part of celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Of the one lakh plus sites identified, work on over 80,000 sarovars has already begun, the amrit sarovar website shows.

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Control (MOEFCC) has got two wetland atlases in 2006-07 and 2006-17 to identify the country’s wetlands by the Space Applications Centre (SAC) under ISRO. The satellite mapping showed about 7.57 lakh wetlands of which over two lakh are major ones, being above the size of 2.25 hectares each.

Said Kishore Rithe director Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), “Wetlands should not be used for recreation and they need to be conserved to maintain their ecological services. State must respect this in the case of Amrit Sarovar.”

According to activist Jyoti Nadkarni, “Our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands. Groundwater contained in aquifers accounts for over 95% of available freshwater and is the most critical source of drinking water and irrigation. Several wetlands help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater,”

She demanded, “All the wetlands as identified by the SAC mapping must be protected.”

In a direct communication to the PMO via Modi’s website, NatConnect Foundation sought to bring to his notice the fact that hardly 1255 of the 7.57 lakh wetlands identified by the National Wetland Atlas have so far been notified.

In the absence of notification of the wetlands for conservation, the water bodies have been under constant attack, going by the experience in many cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, said NatConnect director B N Kumar.

Kuma wrote to the PM: “It is great to note your concern for the protection of the environment and under your guidance even the G20 New Delhi summit has adopted the declaration focusing on the environmental issues ahead of the COPS”.

“1,255 wetlands have so far been notified and the rest of the water bodies, major and minor, are constantly facing the threat of being buried under the guise of development,” the communique to the PM said.

Kumar claimed, “The 75,000-odd Amrit Sarovars will also face the same fate as many wetlands that were buried in major cities if they are not notified as wetlands.”

He concluded, “We have requested the PM and the environment department to have the Amrit Sarovars notified as wetlands so that they can be legally maintained and conserved.”