City has 826 waterbodies but 153 are beyond revival, shows survey

Gurgaon: As many as 153 waterbodies in the district are beyond revival or restoration while 53 are under threat of meeting the same fate due to encroachments, according to a survey by Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).
The survey was conducted to identify waterbodies in the district, according to NGT orders.
It also revealed that 20% of the water bodies in Gurgaon are at risk of losing their original state owing to discharge of untreated sewage, industrial effluent and waste water into them.
Earlier, the green court had directed GMDA to identify and assign a unique identification code to 123 main waterbodies in Gurgaon. However, instead of 123 waterbodies, GMDA identified 826 waterbodies or water features, including village ponds under public ownership (erstwhile listed but no longer existing or completely dried up with little potential for revival of water collection), natural low-lying water collection areas, small areas with occasional waterlogging, privately-owned and government sewage/water treatment plants (STPs/WTPs), and those with features included in earlier surveys.
According to the GMDA officials, 47 of the identified waterbodies are tanks, and 135 are waterbodies that have not been found in survey records and need further analysis.
This leaves 644 waterbodies, covering an area of approximately 1,142 acres and including 124 main waterbodies. “As part of the survey, we have identified 124 core waterbodies. The report gives us specific data on the present condition of these waterbodies and a basis for formulation of revival policies,” said M D Sinha, the additional CEO of GMDA. Sinha said that in the survey, it was found out that 153 waterbodies had practically vanished and were beyond recovery or revival. “Over the past few decades, there has been a significant change in the surface hydrology of the city, which has led to the extinction of some of these waterbodies,” he added.
He said that restoration of the waterbodies would include restoration of the habitat, as well. Since many of the waterbodies are ponds located in villages, the restoration process will include finding a way to feed these waterbodies with recycled water. The survey has been done using revenue records, the survey of India report 1976, world view satellite imagery of 2011-12, and geographic information systems (GIS) data from GMDA. GMDA, along with Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon, took six months to complete the exercise.
Each and every waterbody, including the 124 core waterbodies, have been assigned unique codes, including a three-digit serial number and an eight-digit identifier of the location (latitude and longitude).
“The unique ID and inventory system makes the waterbody and its condition trackable in space and status. Its location can be viewed in any geo-referenced map or image by entering the latitude and longitude in the unique ID and its condition can be compared with benchmark images and details given in the database,” said the survey report, which has been accessed by TOI.