BMC to map all water bodies in city

According to Suprabha Marathe,Executive Engineer,Rain Water Harvesting,“Every water body will be then checked for the quality of water,its use,level of water etc. There are lot of ponds in the city which have dried up. We will also see if there is a possibility of reviving them.” Old records show that there are about 100 ponds in the city,many of them now filled with debris.

The mapping of water bodies is being done as part of the preparation of the new Development Plan,which is being revised for 2014-2034.

According to a senior official,following the population forecast and forecast for the need for open spaces and water bodies in the years to come,the civic administration will have to devise a stricter policy to save the dying water bodies. Currently,there is no state government or civic administration policy on protecting or reviving water bodies.

Early this year,The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) had planned to map all water bodies in Mumbai.

Activist Jagdish Gandhi said,“During the colonial period,there were more than 550 water bodies in Mumbai (which would now be the Greater Mumbai part). Today,not more than 80-90 are surviving. It is imperative that there be a strict policy to revive and protect water bodies in the city. These are the retainers of water and help increase the water table.” Gandhi has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court seeking notification of water bodies in Mumbai and across the state in the gazette. He also sought that they be protected from land-sharks.