NEW DELHI: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will revive defunct borewells in parks and gardens within a month to facilitate rainwater harvesting.
After identifying waterlogging points on roads, parks and other places, the authority will put a system in place to divert rainwater to underground reservoirs.
An official statement issued by the DDA on Friday said that under the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ (JSA) of the Union government, it is making various efforts to conserve groundwater and as part of this initiative, the horticulture department will divert rainwater underground to increase groundwater level.
“As per the provisions of the environment improvement scheme, the DDA will restore non-functional borewells which will be used to store water in 80 parks. The target is to fix and develop defunct borewells in parks across the city by the end of July for rainwater harvesting,” said the official statement.
“At identified spots, infrastructure will be created for water storage and a system will be put in place to send rainwater to underground pits for groundwater recharge and augmentation of water level.
Similarly, rainwater from roads will be diverted to water reservoirs in 50 parks through kuchha and pucca drains built for this purpose,” said the official statement.
The authority has also decided to hold ‘Van Utsav Pakhwara’ (forest festival fortnight) for environment conservation. The DDA has set a target of planting six lakh shrubs and saplings for water accretion and improvement in parks, green belts and reserved forest areas in the city.
“To create awareness among locals, NGOs will also be invited to participate in plantation drives. This is to encourage people from all walks of life to engage in plantation and groundwater improvement. We are making efforts to ensure environment protection and promote groundwater conservation under Centre’s Jal Shakti Abhiyan in which awareness drives will also play an important role,” said an official.
Rainwater to be channeled to pits
At identified spots, infrastructure will be created for water storage and a system will be put in place to send rainwater to underground pits for groundwater recharge and augmentation of water level