Puducherry formed special committee for rejuvenation of waterbodies

PUDUCHERRY: To upkeep the rejuvenation and maintenance of water bodies in Puducherry, the government of Puducherry has formed district and region-level committees to develop an action plan for repairing waterbodies with special emphasis on rainwater harvesting.

The committee consist of various officials from line department and the committee would be headed by District Collectors of Puducherry and Karaikal and Regional Administrators of Mahe and Yanam. Block Development Officers, Public Works Department officials and representatives from District Rural Development Agency, Municipalities and Commune Panchayats, State Ground Water Authority and Department of Science and Technology would be part of the committees said an official source.

The official said that the committee is entrusted with task to identify and compile data village wise of all water bodies and upload the information on their website for public use. The committee will then prepare an action plan for rejuvenation of all water drenched waterbodies and submit the data to the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee (PPCC) in line with the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

T Arun, special secretary (Revenue) said, a Standard Operating Procedure would be prepared to conserve and safeguard the waterbodies during natural calamities.

The committee also ensure to create a plan which include works of public action groups that is NGOs, NSS, volunteers and private partnerships for removal of encroachments and silt from lakes and tanks.

The Karaikal district administration told they would be working to rejuvenate water bodies with help of government and volunteering organisations.

A Vikranth Raja, Collector, Karaikal said, the district administration will identify and allot one waterbody to each government departments which then be rejuvenated by the departments staff contribution.