Beautification spells bane for city lakes

The lakes are changing. Rather, they are disappearing. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) says they are beautifying it.

“We are following the Bangalore model for lakes. The plan to beautify the lakes has core and non-core elements. The core elements are cycling track, a diversionary channel, storm water channel, sedimentation tank and wetland pond. The non-core areas are lighting, safety fencing and landscaping,” said Shekhar Reddy of GHMC, which will be executing the work.

The government has earmarked ₹ 287 crore to beautify 20 of the 185 lakes in the city.

Interestingly, 63 lakes were beautified in 2016 at a cost of ₹.93 crore.

Among the lakes in the spotlight is the Gandipet lake where work is being taken up by Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA). “The first phase involves levelling the ground around FTL leaving a 30-metre buffer zone. The work is likely to be completed in six months,” informed an HMDA official.

However, the lake bed will not be dredged or deepened. “We are still drawing up plans about how to go about it. There are various other components involved,” said the official.

Three other lakes — Durgam Cheruvu, Nallagandla Cheruvu and Malaka Cheruvu — are being developed with funds from corporate social responsibility.

The result of all the money and beautification is leading to shrinking of lakes. “Seventeen lakes were not traceable while nine are fully encroached. The incidence of missing lakes showed non-protection of water bodies resulting in continuance of inundation during monsoon,” said the Comptroller and Auditor General of India report, which was released a few days ago.

Among the plans of GHMC is creating islands for nesting birds in the lakes. “There will be no decline in the storage capacity of the lakes once all these project components are executed,” said the GHMC official.

But civic activists are not amused. “Lakes in Hyderabad are shrinking because of all the earthen work officials are interested in carrying out. They dump building material and waste and then say they are building a cycling track or a walking track. Despite our protests, they have carried out massive dumping in the Malkam Cheruvu. They are not working on opening up inflow channels,” says Lubna Sarwath of Save Our Urban Lakes.

Activists also fear that the huge money being spent on Osmansagar lake to turn it into a tourist spot will eventually lead to changing of the lake’s use.

Currently, it is defined as a drinking water body and there is limitation on construction activity in the catchment area. “Once the lake’s use changes from drinking water source to a tourist spot, it will lead to change of land use. This will open a vast real estate playground,” says Ms. Sarwath.

A Twitter user remarked: “I hope this doesn’t lead to abolishing of GO 111. Having cafes, hotels, cycling... Any concrete facility is bad for this lake. We have seen what has happened to 400 lakes in Hyderabad..vanished or made dirty... (sic).”