Depleting Resources

Fast depleting water resources in the Capital have raised concerns in the corridors of power so much so that 629 such water bodies have been listed for revival and maintenance. However, several water bodies that are struggling to survive rapid urbanisation don’t figure in this list for reasons varying from their strange disappearance to officials not attending the meeting. The 36,000 sq feet Mayapuri lake is one such water body that was reduced substantially when its 18,000 sq mt area was filled up for a common effluent treatment plant (CETP). However, the PWD, under which the lake was listed in 2002, says that its revenue records show that no such lake existed. In a reply to an RTI plea filed by NGO Tapas recently, the department has denied that the water body was ever under its jurisdiction.