The Delhi Government will transform lakes into tourist spots. Water Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday chaired a review meeting of all the projects regarding water body and lake rejuvenation.

Jain said, “The city Government is using sustainable methods for lake revival and is working towards giving a pleasant look to its water bodies besides reviving them by using native plant species to rejuvenate the ecosystem.”

He directed the officials associated with projects and said there should be no delays in the work due to improper inter-departmental coordination and gave the deadline of two years to the officials to complete the revival and rejuvenation work of all the 22 lakes and 200 water bodies.

 “The lakes should remain filled with clean water throughout the year. It should be ensured that maximum groundwater is recharged through these water bodies. Sludge and solid waste should be cleaned and the ecosystem should be rejuvenated. The lakes should be developed as public spaces with proper landscaping,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said.

 After discussing this with senior officials, Jain further said, “To achieve the target of rejuvenations of lake on time, the Delhi Government will take the help of experts. The landscape of the lakes should be transformed in such a way that they become the centre of attraction for people and be on the map of every tourist across the world.”

He also instructed the officials to create additional recharge wells near water bodies and lakes to increase their water recharging capacity. He further instructed that drains carrying clean rainwater should be connected to nearby water bodies and lakes.

 The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is working on 45 water bodies and is expected to complete its work by the end of this year. These were the most difficult water bodies to handle as they were receiving direct sewage from nearby areas.

To tackle this, Decentralised Sewage Treatment Plants (D-STPs) are being deployed on the site-specific requirement.

 In the rejuvenation of 22 lakes and green areas, the DJB is using recycled water which will be sourced either from new Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) or existing STPs.

 To expedite the work, the Water Minister divided responsibilities between two engineering departments of the Delhi Government which will be involved in the whole rejuvenation work.

The DJB will ensure that lakes and water bodies receive water throughout the year in the form of recycled water from STPs while the Irrigation and Flood Control Department will work on the landscaping and creating public space.

 “The rejuvenation of Timarpur Oxidation Lake and Rohini Lake are two of our important projects. These lakes should be transformed as per the expectations and the officials should work hard to make the plan come alive,” he added.

 It should be noted that the Timarpur Lake is spread across 38 acres of land and the Rohini Lake is spread across 40 acres.