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Lakes fall victim to urbanisation

Sunday, 13 June 2010 06:45 administrator
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The Hindu     13.06.2010

Lakes fall victim to urbanisation

D.V.L Padma Priya

HYDERABAD: Next time you are out there to purchase a ‘lake view' apartment or a house near a water body, make sure you question the builder where the sewerage from the building goes into.

If the confession of a civil engineer associated with an upcoming venture around Kapra Lake is to be believed, then the sewerage of most new apartments are let untreated into lakes they are built around.

The engineer associated with a venture coming around Kapra Lake said that while the building plan submitted to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) clearly shows the sewer lines of the building being connected to an existing system, in reality it doesn't happen.

“We get the required permission and often we are unable to connect the sewer line of the building to an existing line due to overloading. So, we let out the sewerage directly into open drains or into a water body nearby,” he says.

And this is not a new trend. Over the past few years, lakes at Ramakrishnapuram, Kapra, Safilguda and Hasmathpet have borne the brunt of lack of proper sewerage system. “While a number of apartments continue to come up, there are not enough sewer lines to transport the waste to main lines,” says a senior engineer of GHMC under condition of anonymity.

Residents living around the lakes at Kapra, Ramakrishnapuram and Safilguda allege the nexus between the real estate body and municipal officials for the current state of affairs.

“Permission is given to each and every builder without any discretion. Even if the apartment is coming in the FTL area, GHMC gives it clearance,” alleges a resident.

Incidentally, while permission for new sewer lines for buildings has to be sought from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Works and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), the areas in the periphery are still in the purview of GHMC.

“This means there is no coordination between GHMC and HMWSSB and many a times, the lines are not continued up till the main line or to a Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP),” says the engineer.

He feels that an independent sewerage line should be laid by collecting development fund from the builders. “Builders of a cluster of apartments should contribute to lay an independent line which is directly connected to the main line. Also smaller STPs can be set up to prevent lakes from getting polluted,” he advises.

Sunil Kumar Gupta, Member, Environment, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) which has taken up the task of protecting the lakes in the city said the allegations and claims would certainly be looked into and acted upon.

Last Updated on Sunday, 13 June 2010 06:46
 

Move to protect water bodies

Sunday, 13 June 2010 06:42 administrator
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The Hindu      13.06.2010

Move to protect water bodies

Special Correspondent

Lake Protection Authority on the anvil; Act to be in place soon

-A FILE PHOTO

Crying need:Lake Protection Committee entrusted the task of preparing action plan for desilting of lakes and inflow channels.

HYDERABAD: A Lake Protection Authority (LPA) is on the anvil for effective protection of the water bodies in and around Hyderabad. The Law Department is seized of the matter and an Act will be in place very soon.

“The LPA will have statutory powers and help in better enforcement of the lake protection rules,” said B.P. Acharya, Metropolitan Commissioner, HMDA.

He was speaking at the launch of the Save Our Urban Lakes (SOUL), an initiative undertaken by concerned citizens for protecting the city's water bodies, here on Saturday.

The government had recently formed a Lake Protection Committee with himself as chairman, Mr. Acharya said.

The 17-member committee was tasked with listing of all lakes along with their FTL in HMDA area, removal of encroachments and preparation of action plan for desilting and inflow channels.

Expressing concern at the degradation of water bodies, Mr. Acharya said of the 169 lakes in the HMDA core area, 87 required intervention. And of these, 18 were most polluted. Osmansagar, Himayatsagar and Hussainsagar figured top in the priority list for development of green belt.

Next in priority were 10 lakes where boundaries would be demarcated and encroachments removed. They are Durgam cheruvu, Banda cheruvu (Malkajgiri), Thammadi Kunta (Madhapur), Amber cheruvu , Hasmathpet cheruvu (Kukatpally), Yellamma cheruvu, Bhagarathi cheruvu, Mysamma cheruvu (Serlingampally), Ramanthapur cheruvu and Kapra cheruvu.

In the third priority are 8 lakes where excess sewerage inflow would be diverted and STPs built.

They include Banjara lake, R.K. Puram cheruvu, Pedda cheruvu, Nalla cheruvu (Uppal), Mir Alam Tank, Satam cheruvu and Nalla cheruvu (Moosapet).

In the new master plan being finalised, there was a separate chapter on climate change. Issues like rising night temperatures and increased frequency of copious rainfalls were addressed, Mr. Acharya said.

He said FTL stones were being prepared meticulously with the help of GPS. Green buffer was planned around lakes and once ready, it would be declared reserved forest. The measures taken so far had yielded good results and the ecosystem restored to some extent.

The Hussainsagar was being cleaned up with Rs. 310 crore outlay from JICA. Mainly, it was the Kukatpally nala with its 220 mld effluents that polluted the lake. “Hopefully, in eight months, city will get back a clean Hussainsagar,” Mr. Achayra said.

Earlier, the decay and destruction of the water bodies evoked strong reaction from speakers. Lake expert K.L. Vyas said urban water bodies were important in regulating micro climate around cities. Subba Rao, director, Centre for Research Education, called for finding a cost-effective way remedying the water bodies.

Kodarkar, member, ILEC, Japan, said there was no dearth of ideas for protection of lakes but what was lacking was a will to implement them. On the Hussainsagar alone more than 36 persons had done doctoral research.

Indiscriminate use

Jasveen Jairath of SOUL, deplored the indiscriminate use of discretionary powers by bureaucrats.

She pointed out how the MAUD department had sanctioned land use change by issuing 36 GOs between 2003-2007. The GO III was welcome, but in the restricted 10 km radius, close to 40 educational institutions, the Shamshabad Airport and Outer Ring Road had come up. SOUL aimed at rejuvenating lakes and water bodies in Hyderabad urban agglomeration, she said.

Last Updated on Sunday, 13 June 2010 06:44
 

State plans stringent norms against exploitation of ground water in 2011

Friday, 11 June 2010 09:51 administrator
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Indian Express    11.06.2010

State plans stringent norms against exploitation of ground water in 2011

Surbhi Khyati Tags : exploitation of ground water, lucknow Posted: Fri Jun 11 2010, 02:32 hrs

Lucknow:  In view of over exploitation of ground water resources, which has doubled in the last four years in the state, the government hopes to pass a draft Bill on conservation, protection and development of ground water by the year-end.

“The Bill, which has been already circulated for public opinion till July 5, will most probably be made into an Act by the year-end,” said Lakhiram Nagar, Minister of State for Minor Irrigation Department, in Lucknow on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion of Ground Water Conservation Day, Nagar added if the state does not start conserving water now, it will not be in a position to do much later.

According to the state government, UP will be the first state in north India to implement such Act which has been based in a model Act circulated by the Centre in 2005.

“We will be organising public workshops and discussion, after which the final draft will be presented to the state Cabinet before being tabled before the Assembly,” said Susheel Kumar, Principal Secretary, Minor Irrigation Department.

According to Kumar, the Act — Uttar Pradesh Ground Water Conservation, Protection and Development (Management, Control and Regulation) Act, 2010 — will not affect the general public but the bulk users of water as well as the industries.

“With the implementation of the Act, all existing and new bulk, commercial and industrial users in the non-identified blocks (See Box) will need to register themselves and use water according to the given limits. But in the over exploited and critical blocks, no new connections will be granted unless the water level is brought up to normal level,” said Kumar. 

“Each district will have its bulk users defined according to the availability of water. Any body exceeding the limits of water consumption will henceforth be penalized,” he added. It will also be mandatory for bulk users to adopt rain water harvesting and recharging techniques.

Last Updated on Friday, 11 June 2010 09:54
 
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