Delhi’s new plan to tackle water scarcity

NEW DELHI: In a bid to solve the water problems of the city, the Delhi government has approved a pilot project for conservation of the river water by creating small ponds in the Yamuna floodplains from Palla to Wazirabad on July 3. The estimated cost of the project would be approximately Rs 50 crore.

To execute the pilot, the government will rent privately owned land by farmers of the Yamuna floodplains and then create small ponds in 20 km stretch to conserve water. Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, said that the government will only dig ponds, since the Yamuna floodplain is a very big natural reservoir and does not require any artificial construction. Besides rainwater, flood waters of Yamuna river during the monsoon season will also flow into these ponds. This will increase the groundwater table. “We have constituted a five-member committee to prepare modalities of the project. It has been asked to submit its report by Monday,” said Kejriwal.

The decision was taken after the government data indicated that 56 per cent of the country is currently threatened by water scarcity due to over exploitation of groundwater levels, including the capital city, Delhi.