Ghaziabad: 28 water bodies to be revived before monsoon

Officials said that they are also considering the linking of water bodies to water treatment plants so that drinking water supply can also be enhanced in the city

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation has completed the rejuvenation work of 10 water bodies under its jurisdiction area and plans to revive 28 more before the advent of the monsoon season. Officials said that they are also considering the linking of water bodies to water treatment plants so that drinking water supply can also be enhanced in the city.

Like Pakka Talab (in pic) in Balupura, several ponds have dried up in the city over the past few years. (HT archive)

The 10 water bodies that were revived include the ones at Rispur, Sadarpur, Makanpur and Dundahera.

According to the officials, only 38 of the 41 water bodies that have been identified can be rejuvenated, while the rest have been encroached upon for the past several decades.

“We have revived 10 water bodies and the rejuvenation work for the rest is being taken up. It is likely that we will finish the rejuvenation of the remaining water bodies before the onset of monsoon in June. Once all these waterbodies are revived, we may have a future plan to interlink these sources with water treatment plants, so that water supply can be increased in a considerable manner,” said MS Tanwar, the municipal commissioner of Ghaziabad.

“The rejuvenation work may not directly help us in getting a drinking water source, but it will definitely help us in the recharging of groundwater resources. Of the 10 water bodies where rejuvenation work is complete, we have handed over eight to the fisheries department so that the clean status can be maintained,” Tanwar added.

According to official records of the Jal Shakti ministry of the Uttar Pradesh government, the groundwater level in urban segments of Ghaziabad district has recorded an average decline of 6.55 metres below ground level (mbgl) as compared to an average of 3.8 mbgl decline in rural segments during the post-monsoon period of year 2016 to the post-monsoon period of year 2020.

The corporation is also trying to meet the target of 135 litres per capita per day (lpcd) water supply to city residents by the year 2025 while currently, the estimated supply is about 128 lpcd.

The corporation has also identified 14 of 41 identified waterbodies whose water quality is considered “good.” These include waterbodies at Morta, Noor Nagar, Duhai, Dundahera, Byana and Makanpur, among others.

According to official estimates, the city has a demand of about 350 million litres per day (mld) while the supply is about 310 mld, which also includes about 45 mld provided by the Ganga water treatment plants at Pratap Vihar.

Earlier in March 2021, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in an order filed by Ghaziabad resident Sushil Raghav, directed the state and Union territories to designate nodal agencies for the restoration of waterbodies and plan for a future course of action “up to the panchayat level to evolve monitoring mechanism and grievance redressal.”

The tribunal had also directed the chief secretary of UP to take up further action and ensure compliance for removal of encroachments and restoration of water bodies by periodically holding meetings with the district magistrates, besides community involvement and uploading the data of steps taken on relevant websites.

“The condition of ponds and waterbodies in Ghaziabad is not up to the mark. Revival of a handful of water bodies will not make much impact. It is vital that encroachments are removed from the water bodies on an urgent basis. Otherwise, the city may face a water crisis in the upcoming decades as the groundwater is being depleted at a rapid pace,” Raghav said.