The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) will take up 81 government-owned lakes in the city to boost the groundwater level and develop new areas for recreation. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel allocated the lakes to the civic body Monday.
“Percolation of water to the aquifers is very fast given that most of the lakes in the city have sand beds. Within a month of rain the water totally seeps in, leaving no room to use it. The lakes become devoid of the freshwater or become dry,” said an AMC official.
Pointing out that concretisation of the area around the lakes makes it difficult for water to reach them, the official said, “Encroachment will be the biggest challenge that will face during the development project,” said the official.
The official also said that there are 153 lakes in the city, of which 21 were given to the AMC for development work last year. “This time, 81 lakes were given… but we do not know the actual number of lakes that would be taken for the development work,” the official added.
The work is at nascent stage, the official said, adding, “It is yet to be decided how the development work will happen. The budget estimate also is not made.”
Last year, when 21 lakes were given to AMC for rejuvenation, Rs 10 crore was allocated for the work, as per the AMC official.