NEW DELHI: Delhi Water Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said the Delhi Jal Board has given a deadline of two years to the officials to complete the revival and rejuvenation works of all the 22 lakes and 200 waterbodies in the national capital.
“The lakes should remain filled with clean water throughout the year. It should be ensured that maximum groundwater is recharged through these water bodies. Sludge and solid waste should be cleaned and the ecosystem should be rejuvenated. The lakes should be developed as public spaces with landscaping,” Jain added.
To create additional recharge wells near waterbodies and lakes, officials have been instructed to increase water recharging capacity. He further instructed that drains carrying clean rainwater should be connected to nearby waterbodies.
The DJB is working on 45 waterbodies and is expected to complete the works by the end of this year.
To achieve the target, Decentralized Sewage Treatment Plants (D-STPs) are also being deployed as per requirement. For the rejuvenation of 22 lakes and green areas, the DJB is using recycled water.
This water will be sourced either from new STPs or existing STPs. To expedite the works, the water minister has bifurcated responsibilities between two engineering departments of the Delhi government which will be involved in the whole rejuvenation work.
DJB will ensure that lakes and waterbodies receive water throughout the year in the form of recycled water from STPs while irrigation and flood control department will work on the landscaping and creating public space.