The Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday approved an interdepartmental committee report on the Yamuna floodplain natural water storage project.
The Delhi government has claimed that the pilot project is the first of its kind in the country and has the potential to end the city’s water woes. The project is expected to start in a month’s time.
In a statement, the Delhi government credited Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal monitoring of the project “on an hourly basis” for the possible implementation of the project during the ongoing monsoon season.
The CM has given the Irrigation and Flood Department a month to make preparations for the pilot project, it added.
NGT approvals awaited
“The project aims at conserving water in the Yamuna floodplains and creating a mega reservoir between Palla and Wazirabad to deal with water shortage in Delhi, particularly during summer,” the government said.
The project envisages the creation of small ponds in the floodplains that will catch water from an overflowing Yamuna during the monsoon, it said.
Most of the requisite approvals for the pilot project have been received barring two from the National Green Tribunal committees, which are expected “very soon”.
“Soon after the Cabinet meeting, Mr. Kejriwal called up Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The CM thanked the Minister for the quick approvals for the project by the Centre,” the statement read.
Land on lease
“The pilot project has been fast-paced due to hourly monitoring by the CM. He has been keenly pushing for the project, which is going to be a game changer for Delhi,” the statement added.
The interdepartmental committee report has recommended that an amount of ₹77,000 per acre per year should be paid to the farmers for leasing out their land for the project.
“The farmers will get the sum according to the number of acres of land they give the government on lease for the pilot project,” the statement added.
