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3/27/12 Chandola lake turns into dust bowl | Down To Earth
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Chandola lake turns into dust bowl0 Comments
Author(s): Sanyukta Dasgupta
Date: Oct 7, 2011
City authorities look the other way despite
court orders to conserve the lake
Chandola lake was once a lifeline of the city of Ahmedabad in
Gujarat. Divided into two parts, the Chota Chandola and the Bada
Chandola met the irrigation and industrial needs of the area. But
most of the lake that once spread over 1,200 hectares (ha) has
now been transformed into a dry dust bowl. The Chota Chandola
has been completely encroached and the Bada Chandola has
illegal squatters and slums on either side of the water body.
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The larger lake bed has shrunk to almost 15 per cent because the canals thatfeed it are choked and the smaller lake is gone
Photograph by: Sanyukta Dasgupta
Shailesh Shah, a trader who lives in Mani Nagar in south-eastern
part of Ahmedabad has seen the best and worst periods of the
lake. "As a child, I have seen it full of freshwater. The lake's water
used to be crystal clear and we could see the fish swimming below
the surface. But today, you don't see water at all. The larger lake
bed has shrunk to almost 15 per cent because the canals that
feed it are choked and the smaller lake is gone.” The pressure on
both the lakes means Chandola does not have enough water for
irrigation. What's more, the surrounding areas have become
prone to flooding because the natural drains are choked.
Chandola's story is not new. In 1960, there were 204 lakes in the
city, says advocate Mihir Joshi. According to government records,
only 137 water bodies have survived. In July 2000, when it rained
508 mm in one day, the city as well as the outskirts went under
water. As soon as the monsoon was over, the city faced a huge
water crisis, which was so severe that it became a political issue.
Still the legislators never thought of conserving the lakes, says
Joshi.
Court intervenes
The lake came into focus when Shah filed a public interest petition
in 2000 seeking court orders to save the lake. In 2001, the city
celebrated when the Gujarat High Court gave an interim
judgement stopping all the new constructions in wetlands. The
court even restricted new constructions within a radius of 500-
1,000 metres around the remaining 137 water bodies. The court
order seemed to annoy the builders and even the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the Ahmedabad Urban
Development Authority (AUDA). Builders and even the Indian
Institute of Management (which had land adjoining a water body)
filed affidavits, asking the court to modify its order. The two-
year-long legal battle initiated by Shah concluded in August, 2003
when the high court gave the final verdict. The court ordered the
state government, urban development authorities and the
municipal corporation to preserve the lakes and ponds in the
state. Any sort of pollution and encroachment should be checked,
said the order. Joshi, who fought for Chandola lake in the court,
explained that the ruling was a ray of hope to solve the water
crisis in the city.
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The court order said that the responsibility of deciding the
distance from lake to the construction site is left to the discretion
of the civic authorities responsible for urban development and
local bodies like municipal corporations and panchayats, based on
the town planning regulations. Earlier, in May 2002, AUDA had
notified the General Development Control Regulations, permitting
construction within nine metres of water bodies.
The municipal corporation has failed to stop solid waste dumping andencroachments near the lake
Photograph by: Sanyukta Dasgupta
Eight years post court ruling
After the high court ruling, the municipal corporation tried to stop
industrial effluent from flowing into the lake, but solid waste
dumping and encroachments were not taken care of says Shah.
He explains that the Kharicut canal, which was a major source of
water to this reservoir, is totally choked with garbage due to
negligence of the civic authorities. The other small canals have
also been filled or diverted on the pretext of further development
works. The lake bed is gradually turning into a garbage dump with
the slum dwellers using it for open defecation, says Shah.
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Chandola's case proves that lakes that belong to the revenue
department are very easy to encroach. Once squatters take over,
they obtain political patronage in return for votes. This is what
has happened to the Chandola lake, says Joshi. Repeated pleas to
clear the encroachments and rehabilitate them have fallen on deaf
ears. In 2009, AMC officers razed a few illegal construction near
the lake but abandoned the exercise, says Shah.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is responsible for looking
after the lake. When contacted, chief engineer K N Parikh declined
to comment on the state of the water body. The corporation
claims that at present the water body is filled to its peak level.
However, when asked to comment on the encroachment, Parikh
blamed other departments for it.
The Central Ground Water Board data on groundwater shows
that the water level in Ahmedabad has dipped to 95 metres in
certain places (see graph). If water bodies like the Chandola are
not taken care of, the city will face a big crisis by way of drought
or flood. It's high time the legislators find a connection between
conservation of water bodies and water problems, say activists.
Measure that brought little
Following the court order on the lakes of Ahmedabad in 2003,
the Gujarat government created a water resources council,
headed by the chief minister to oversee the programme for
rejuvenating all water bodies. It was decided that a water
resources committee chaired by the chief secretary of the
state would assist this committee. These measures have
proved to be of little use as can be seen in the case of
Chadola.
With the speedy pace of industrialisation in the state, water
management and groundwater recharge is increasingly becoming
a challenge for the Gujarat authorities. Many districts have over-
exploited the existing ground water resources. In some talukas
the state government had to stop granting permissions for
drawing groundwater.
Despite efforts in improvement of groundwater table, the results
have not been very promising. A study by the Columbia Water
Center (CWC) of Earth Institute at Columbia University also
highlighted the alarming decline in the groundwater table over the
past two decades in Gujarat. This steady decline in the aquifer
level has affected the farmers the most as they sink bore wells
deeper for water. The civic authorities, however, have turned a
blind eye to the problem. Groundwater recharge and the
conservation of the existing lakes can be a solution to these
woes, say residents.
Tags: Web Specials, Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC),
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Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA), Central Ground Water Board,Chandola lake, Columbia University, Columbia Water Center (CWC) of EarthInstitute, Conservation, Encroachments, Farmers, General Development ControlRegulations, Gujarat High Court, Indian Institute of Management, Industrialeffluent, Irrigation, Lake conservation, Mihir Joshi, Public Interest Petition,Shailesh Shah, Water Pollution
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