It may come as a surprise that humble ponds make up a majority or 59.5 per cent of all water bodies in India. Of the 24,24,540 water bodies enumerated by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in the Water Census Report 2023, 14,42,993 are ponds.

Unfortunately, these traditional community gathering water spaces, have suffered encroachment and pollution from rapid development in their surroundings. Consequently, many of them are in disuse, depleted and in urgent need of rejuvenation.

Revival plan

As part of a revival plan for these water bodies, Delhi-based Development Alternatives (DA), one of the oldest social enterprises in green economic development and environment management, has undertaken a massive project to rejuvenate 57 ponds across rural and peri urban areas of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

To ensure the long-term sustainability of DA’s interventions, the project has tried to place the ownership of the projects into the hands of the communities. “We have established waterbody management committees at the village level. The committees play a crucial role in the decision-making processes related to the pond’s upkeep, ensuring that the actions taken are in line with the community’s aspirations and needs,” says Maj Gen Rahul Bhardwaj, Chief Operations Officer and Associate Vice-President, DA Group, who is providing overall guidance to the project.

In order to treat the incoming grey (contaminated) water from surrounding areas into the ponds, DA has incorporated several models. In particular, this has been done by designing three structures, explains Aakriti Uttam, Program Officer. The first is a two chambered D-Structure that segregates and treats the wastewater in two steps. The second structure is a septic tank that treats the wastewater for a longer time to allow for anaerobic digestion. The third structure is a natural treatment system that treats wastewater by passing it through an artificially constructed wasteland.

Simple structures

These simple structures allow for the possibility of replication across the country. Gautam Buddha Nagar, Fatehpur, UP and Niwari, MP are places where DA’s interventions have had an impact.

The DA project has got increased focus thanks to the Amrit Sarovar Scheme initiated by the government in April 2022 with the objective to have 75 water bodies in every district of the country.

DA has partnered with HCL Foundation, ATE Chandra Foundation and MARICO India along with stakeholders Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority.

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