New Delhi: Amid scorching heat and depleting ground water level in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced the approval of an ambitious water conservation project in the River Yamuna and said that he wants to ‘end the water shortage’. Mr. Kejriwal announcing the decision said,
We keep reading the world is heading towards a serious water crisis, reports about water shortage in different parts of the country, depleting water table in Delhi. Keeping all this in mind, the government has cleared an ambitious project for water conservation in the Yamuna floodplains.
The Delhi cabinet in a meeting on Tuesday, chaired by the Chief Minister, approved the ambitious project for water conservation in the River Yamuna floodplains. The Chief Minister said the government also intends to initiate the ground water recharging this monsoon itself, but this time it will be on an experimental basis. CM Kejriwal said,
The result of the pilot project will help us form a clear idea about the success of this project. Since River Yamuna has a vast floodplain and it has big potential for water conservation and through this project, we can solve the water shortage of Delhi.
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Water will be conserved in stretches from Palla till Wazirabad on a completely eco-friendly basis and no construction or use of cement will be involved and regular flow of Yamuna will not be disrupted, an official statement said.
Small ponds will be constructed near the river so it fills them when the river overflows during the monsoon. Water will then percolate down and it will spread leading to an increase in the water table of these areas.
After the Cabinet decision, the Delhi government will require the concurrence of some Central government agencies, about which the Union Jal Shakti Minister Mr Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was informed in a recent meeting.
The Centre appears positive about this project and the Delhi government has requested that given the fact the Monsoon is approaching the concurrences to be expedited, the statement added.
The land belonging to farmers will be used in the project. Delhi government has formed a five-member committee to negotiate to rent with the involved parties.
Also Read: Delhi Chief Minister Seeks Centre’s Cooperation For Yamuna Flood Plains Water Storage Project
The groundwater level has been depleting in the city. However, several studies had concluded that the stretch of Yamuna flood plain has a “high recharge potential”.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
