NEW DELHI: Najafgarh Jheel, located in south west Delhi and Haryana, has seen a sharp increase in the number of winter migratory birds in the last two months, reviving calls by birders and environmentalists to give it the long-pending status of wetland. According to a survey, more than 3,500 birds were recorded in mid-December this year compared to last year’s 1,800 during the same period.
Similarly, over 2,100 birds were recorded last month, as against less than 2,000 recorded in November 2017. The diversity has also marginally increased with 23 species in November 2018, compared to 20 in 2017. Out of threatened species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), three such were found during the survey in the last two months.
However, the potential wetland has not yet been notified by the Haryana government according to the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2017 for conservation till date. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2017 had asked the state government to give Najafgarh basin areas wetland status. Retracting its previous stand about Najafgarh area having no natural lake, the Haryana government had informed the green court that it has accepted the lake as a water body but hasn’t complied with the order of granting it a wetland status yet.
Notifying wetlands will help prevent illegal dumping of waste there and reduce human interference, thereby creating a safe habitat for birds. “ especially hotspot of water and water dependant birdlife diversity, including long-distant winter migratory and Indian migratory water birds,” said ecologist, conservationist T K Roy, who undertook the survey.
He added that the habitat of the lake is better than last year due to good rainfall. It however started shrinking in winter with its periphery drying.“Still long distant migratory birds like Northern Shoveler, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-headed Goose come here every day for feeding from the nearby wetlands. This lake needs to be conserved in a better way by the authorities,” he said.
Located in south-west Delhi and Haryana, the Najafgarh lake used to cover more than 300 sq km of area in southwest Delhi and the area was known for a natural bird sanctuary. Earlier, INTACH had alleged large-scale construction work done in the floodplain of Najafgarh nallah.
Wetlands and their importance
A wetland is a place where the land is covered by water. marshes, ponds, edge of a lake/ocean, the delta at the mouth of a river, low-lying areas that frequently flood — all of these are wetlands. Ramsar is a city in Iran. In 1971, an international treaty for conservation and sustainable use of wetlands was signed at Ramsar. Its mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions, international cooperation, as a contribution towards sustainable development in the world”. In India, there are 26 wetland sites.