Some revamp stuck midway, Rs 99 crore marked to give 38 waterbodies new life in Delhi

NEW DELHI: At least 38 waterbodies in the city will be rejuvenated under the Amrit Sarovar Mission of the central government. In a state high-powered steering committee meeting called under the chairmanship of the chief secretary on Friday, a fund of Rs 99.4 crore was approved for the project.
“The chief secretary was briefed about the salient features, cost, area, and district-wise location of the proposed projects through PPT.It was also confirmed that the expenditure towards the projects is to be met through the funds earmarked by the ministry of housing and urban affairs under the AMRUT scheme. After considering all the facts and guidelines relevant to the mission, 18 projects of DJB and 20 projects of MCD were unanimously approved by the committee. The total estimated cost of the projects approved by the Committee is Rs 99.4 crore,” stated in the minutes of the meeting.
The names of the sites finalised under the jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation of Delhi include the waterbodies at Bagdola near Malaria Office Sector-8 (Dwarka), Jahaz Wala Park in Bagdola village, Naini Lake (Model Town), Ghazipur village near Highway Apartment, Welcome Jheel, Phase-II (Shahdara), Amberhai (Sector-19 Dwarka), Ghazipur village, Palam Sector-7, Aya Nagar johad near bus stand, Jaunapur village, Masoodpur village, Tahirpur village, and Ramphal Chowk in Sector-7 Dwarka.
While some of these waterbodies were partially developed in the past, the installation of STPs and boundary walls, beautification, etc, are pending due to a shortage of funds, according to MCD officials.
“At places like Shahdara Jheel, phase I was completed but part of phase II and the phase III works are still pending. To complete the remaining work and make it fully operational for the public, we have proposed the lake. Similarly, at Model Town jheel, work for taking treated water from STP near the coronation pillar dispensary to this place will be undertaken in addition to increasing the height of the boundary wall. Till now, water was supplied to the lake through tubewells,” said an MCD official.
Another official said projects were initiated in Aya Nagar and Jaunapur Johad, among other places in south Delhi, but either the installation of STPs; construction of boundary walls and pedestrian walkways; or other aesthetic works are pending. “Places where the provision for STP has been made, the budget demanded is a bit higher in comparison to places where only beautification and development work is required,” the official said.
Some of the waterbodies approved for rejuvenation that fall under DJB are Tajpur water body, Baoli IV Tughlaqabad Village, Bakkargarh (A) water body, Dhool Siras (B), Lampur (C) (D) (E), Daulatpur (C), Khera Kalan (B), Goyla Khurd (A), Holambi Kalan, Mukandpur, Galibpur (B), Samaspur Khalsa (C), Singhola (A), Kanjhawla (A).