Smriti
Kak Ramachandran
NEW
DELHI, August 26, 2012
In Panipat’s Dadlana village
in Haryana, a water body has shrunk to half its size as the other
half has been converted into a 50-bed hospital. In nearby Sonepat
district, Khewra village has converted an existing water body into a
toilet block that incidentally remains unused.
Even as the focus is on fast
disappearance of water bodies from the urban landscapes, water
conservationists have sounded an alarm about the vanishing water
bodies in the rural areas. What was considered an urban phenomenon --
grabbing water body land for other uses -- is now being reported from
rural areas where activists allege the violations are being carried
out by government agencies as well.
“During our surveys in the
villages of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh we found a lot of water bodies
that were manmade have been encroached upon by the Government itself.
They have drained out the water and converted the land into a plot
for schools, dispensaries, and other construction activities,” says
Manoj Misra of non-government organisation Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan.
Pollution, neglect and
indifference, alleges Mr. Misra, are the reason why no attempts have
been made to restore the water bodies that are not just a source of
water, but also sustain bio-diversity and help in ground water
recharge. In some villages surveyed by the YJA, some of the water
bodies that have not been encroached are filled to the brim with
refuse, plastics and construction debris.
“In 2011, a Supreme Court
Bench of Justice Makandey Katju and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra in what
is commonly known as the Jagpal Singh Case, given a very clear
direction to all the State Governments in the country that they
should prepare schemes for eviction of illegal, unauthorised
occupants of Gram Sabha, Gram Panchayat, Poramboke, Shamlat land and
these must be restored to the Gram Sabha, Gram Panchayat for the
common use of the village, but we are yet to see an effective laws
being framed or steps taken to implement the judgment,” Mr. Misra
says.
The YJA has already shot off a
letter to Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh to issue
directions for protection, preservation and restoration of water
bodies in the rural areas. “We are aware that to find effective
statutory solution, it is the Rural Development Ministry that can
step in and ensure the implementation of the Supreme Court
directions. The Wetland Rules from 2010 of the Ministry of
Environment & Forests are of little help to such water bodies,
therefore, to prevent such deleterious tendencies on the part of
local vested interests, it is for the Rural Development Ministry to
take action and monitor the implementation status of this judgment in
the interest of the security of village common lands including
village water bodies,” says Mr. Misra.
“Under MNREGA scheme large a
number of new water bodies are being encouraged but what is happening
to the earlier water bodies seems to be of little concern to most,”
Mr. Misra adds.
Copyright
© 2012, The Hindu
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