Ghaziabad: 28 water bodies to be revived before monsoon

GHAZIABAD: 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. 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 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 water bodies 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, municipal commissioner.

“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.

The corporation has also identified 14 water bodies whose water quality is considered “good”. These include water bodies at Morta, Noor Nagar, Duhai, Dundahera, Byana and

Makanpur, among others.

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

“The condition of ponds and water bodies 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.