In December 2018, the Delhi government launched an ambitious plan with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to revive 159 water bodies across the city. The DJB will be cleaning up the historical waste in these water bodies, building rainwater harvesting structures and recharge pits and planting indigenous trees and plants. The objective is to recharge the city’s plummeting groundwater levels.

Picture by: Shrey Gupta

The first project that the DJB has completed is a pond at Rajokri, near the Delhi-Gurgaon border. The Rajokri pond used to be filled with dirt and sludge. It was a place where cows and pigs loitered. Now it is a landscaped area with a sewage treatment plant (STP) and an artificial wetland. There is space for an open air gym and a children’s play area.

Picture by: Shrey Gupta

A defunct water body near the Satpula dam in Malviya Nagar is also being brought to life by the DJB. While the Satpula water body comes under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Development Authority, the DJB has got a no-objection certificate to go ahead and begin reviving the water body.

Picture by: Shrey Gupta

The Bhalswa Lake or jheel in northwest Delhi is another water body which the DJB plans to rejuvenate. The lake used to be surrounded by fields and forests but is now filled with waste and sewage. Sixty-year-old Babulal, a resident of Shalimar Bagh, who has been visiting the Bhalswa Lake for the last 30 years said, “I have slowly seen the lake shrink and become more and more polluted.”

Picture by: Shrey Gupta 

At one time the Bhalswa Lake was spread across 58 acres. Over the years,  its size has reduced to 34 acres. Known as the  ‘Horseshoe Lake’, it is the recipient of untreated sewage dumped by residential colonies and factories.

Picture by: Shrey Gupta