Talking to Express Newsline, VUDA Chairman Krishnakant Shah said the move was aimed at providing better water facilities as also to make the best possible use of the excess rain water, during the monsoon, which otherwise got evaporated in due course.

He said the excess water in ponds would go into the percolating wells dug right in the middle of the reservoir, rising the sub-soil level. This water will then pass in other wells dug on the banks of the ponds for the villagers to use. Each pond will have one well on its banks, he said.

He said the percolating wells in almost all the 10 selected villages will have to be dug up again as the existing ones had become non-functional with passage of time.

Currently, the villagers draw drinking water from ponds and wells. The water coming from the percolating wells does not require filtration, he stated.

The ponds will be deepened by 10 feet and the percolating wells will have a diameter of about 10 feet. The work is expected to start sometime in January after water level in the ponds recede.

Although VUDA has identified the villages, including Tarsali, Chhani, Harni, Amaliyara, Amodar and Sayajipura, priority will be given to those suggested by village sarpanchs, who have been asked to identify the ponds. Once the ponds are identified, the Authority will undertake a survey. Shah reiterated that villages facing water problems or where rain water has gushed into the localities will be accorded priority.

Part of the soil taken out from the ponds will be used to strengthen the banks, he said, adding, saplings will be planted on the 20-feet broad banks. Based on the success of the experiment, more wells will be dug in other villages in a phased manner, Shah said.

VUDA is also contemplating giving the work of lifting soil to private agencies, as those working in the construction business lift soil free of cost. The material can also be used as fertilisers, he added. The District Panchayat or the Public Works Department will be approached only in case agencies are not available to do the work.

Digging percolating wells is one of the best possible ways to use water in an optimum manner, the chairman said, claiming that he had made this suggestion during meetings of the BJP's Parivartan Cell urging that such a system be adopted in the entire State, particularly in areas where water shortage is a common phenomenon.