NEW DELHI: A dusty road,
snaking between closely set houses, takes you to this water body in south
Delhi's Rajpur Khurd. It is completely dry and surrounded by temples, houses
and a dharamshala which makes it hard to locate. In fact, the road that leads
to it was once submerged under this decades old water body.
"The water body was originally 7,800 sq yards and was part of gram sabha land. At present, only 1,000 sq yards remain. When we first visited, there was only one small temple on the johar, or water body, and some houses surrounding it. The water body originally stretched beyond the houses to the road. In the past three years, there have been three court commissioner visits during which to this water body during which time the commissioners have taken up the case of
case of encroachments was discussed but no action was taken," said a government source.
The temple is now surrounded by village houses, another temple, a dharamshala and a road because of which barely one eighth of the water body is left. The encroachments have also covered the water channels that could have ensured that whatever is left of the water body could at least have a water supply. A village elder, who was sitting by the water body when TOI visited, said the temples were "ancient". When questioned further, he added that they had come up about 10 years back. "The water body is also quite old and has been there since before this area was inhabited. However, it is mostly dry now. Water is difficult to spot even in monsoon," said Thakurji, a resident.
Sources say the court commissioners had stopped work on buildings during their visits. They had asked local authorities to take action against it but the buildings that were under construction during their inspections are now complete and in use. The area deputy commissioner had also passed orders, asking for a list of structures that have come up on the johar land recently but no action was initiated against offenders.
The area where the johar is located, close to Chattarpur, is dotted with several water bodies of varied sizes. Preserving them in this part of the capital is even more important because south and southwest Delhi are woefully short of ground water.
"Most of the water bodies here, other than those located in the forest area and within Bhatti and Asola, are encroached upon and the local government officials are party to it. This is why despite so many orders, the encroachments have not just not stopped, only increased," said a government official.
"The water body was originally 7,800 sq yards and was part of gram sabha land. At present, only 1,000 sq yards remain. When we first visited, there was only one small temple on the johar, or water body, and some houses surrounding it. The water body originally stretched beyond the houses to the road. In the past three years, there have been three court commissioner visits during which to this water body during which time the commissioners have taken up the case of
case of encroachments was discussed but no action was taken," said a government source.
The temple is now surrounded by village houses, another temple, a dharamshala and a road because of which barely one eighth of the water body is left. The encroachments have also covered the water channels that could have ensured that whatever is left of the water body could at least have a water supply. A village elder, who was sitting by the water body when TOI visited, said the temples were "ancient". When questioned further, he added that they had come up about 10 years back. "The water body is also quite old and has been there since before this area was inhabited. However, it is mostly dry now. Water is difficult to spot even in monsoon," said Thakurji, a resident.
Sources say the court commissioners had stopped work on buildings during their visits. They had asked local authorities to take action against it but the buildings that were under construction during their inspections are now complete and in use. The area deputy commissioner had also passed orders, asking for a list of structures that have come up on the johar land recently but no action was initiated against offenders.
The area where the johar is located, close to Chattarpur, is dotted with several water bodies of varied sizes. Preserving them in this part of the capital is even more important because south and southwest Delhi are woefully short of ground water.
"Most of the water bodies here, other than those located in the forest area and within Bhatti and Asola, are encroached upon and the local government officials are party to it. This is why despite so many orders, the encroachments have not just not stopped, only increased," said a government official.
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