Gujarat govt mum over status of water bodies

  • | Monday | 17th September, 2018

AHMEDABAD: For almost two and half years now the Union ministry of water resources has been sending repeated reminders to the Gujarat government seeking a list of lakes and water bodies and their current status.But not a single paper has moved in the Narmada‚ Water Resources‚ Water Supply and Kalpsar Department. But till this date neither the urban development nor the water resources department had been able to file a status report of lakes in the state. He added that a detailed report prepared by the state government in 2005 had 38 lakes in Vadodara’s Bapod area to be completely silted, whereas 26 had turned into dry pits, 11 lakes disappeared to build roads, three lakes had been been reserved for police housing, district panchayat housing and Sardar industrial estate. This is despite that in 2005, the state government had notified 44,138 lakes following a PIL, almost two and half times the number of lakes that are claimed to be de-silted under the Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan.Union water resource and river development secretary Shashi Shekhar had first written to the state government on February 26, 2016 seeking action taken with respect to encroachment, silting, drying up, and existing urbanisation pressures on lakes and water bodies in urban and rural limits.“We have the list readied but are yet to respond to the Union ministry,” admitted a senior state water resources official. Surat urban limits had 330 lakes while Ahmedabad has 61 and Rajkot nine notified lakes.In May this year a PIL filed by Vadodara petitioner Jignesh Pandya had led to the high court staying the process of de-notifying waterbody in Tandalja for a EWS housing, which was notified in gazette by the government in 2005.Also in 2005 the state’s principal secretary, urban development, B K Sinha had filed an affidavit before the high court that appropriate care will be taken while making TP schemes to protect contours and maintain hydrology to ensure that rain waters feeds these lakes located within urban areas.

AHMEDABAD: For almost two and half years now the Union ministry of water resources has been sending repeated reminders to the Gujarat government seeking a list of lakes and water bodies and their current status.But not a single paper has moved in the Narmada‚ Water Resources‚ Water Supply and Kalpsar Department. This is despite that in 2005, the state government had notified 44,138 lakes following a PIL, almost two and half times the number of lakes that are claimed to be de-silted under the Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan.Union water resource and river development secretary Shashi Shekhar had first written to the state government on February 26, 2016 seeking action taken with respect to encroachment, silting, drying up, and existing urbanisation pressures on lakes and water bodies in urban and rural limits.“We have the list readied but are yet to respond to the Union ministry,” admitted a senior state water resources official. He added that a detailed report prepared by the state government in 2005 had 38 lakes in Vadodara’s Bapod area to be completely silted, whereas 26 had turned into dry pits, 11 lakes disappeared to build roads, three lakes had been been reserved for police housing, district panchayat housing and Sardar industrial estate. Surat urban limits had 330 lakes while Ahmedabad has 61 and Rajkot nine notified lakes.In May this year a PIL filed by Vadodara petitioner Jignesh Pandya had led to the high court staying the process of de-notifying waterbody in Tandalja for a EWS housing, which was notified in gazette by the government in 2005.Also in 2005 the state’s principal secretary, urban development, B K Sinha had filed an affidavit before the high court that appropriate care will be taken while making TP schemes to protect contours and maintain hydrology to ensure that rain waters feeds these lakes located within urban areas. But till this date neither the urban development nor the water resources department had been able to file a status report of lakes in the state.

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