'Half of the listed water bodies in city non-existent'

ONLY 674 WATER BODIES EXIST OUT OF THE 1,367 ON RECORD; ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN FOR THEIR REJUVENATION, AUTHORITIES SAY

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

NEW DELHI: Nearly 50% of the identified water bodies in the city have been found non-existent during ground truthing, Delhi's Wetland Authority (DWA) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

According to the authority, there are 1,367 identified water bodies in Delhi—these include 1,045 water bodies identified using revenue records and an additional 322 identified by Geospatial Delhi Limited (GSDL) using satellite imagery.

In its submission dated December 10 to the green court on the status of these water bodies, the authority said out of the 1,045 water bodies identified in 2021, only 631 water bodies were found on the ground, with the rest either missing or encroached upon. Besides, merely 43 of the 322 water bodies identified by GSDL were found on ground during the survey conducted this year over several months, it added.