City of Lakes: Project by Delhi Government

City of Lakes: Project by Delhi Government

Total Lakes/Water Bodies^[1]

• 65 water bodies are owned by Delhi Government

• 980 water bodies are directly/indirectly owned by Central Government**

Implementation - Phase 1

Achievement till June 2023

INNOVATIONS: Scientific Wetland with Active Biodigester (SWAB)^[2][3]

The treatment of polluted water requires three — air, bacteria, and surface for bacterial growth

• Aeration equipment are installed to maintain high dissolved oxygen levels in the water

• The floated wetlands: a frugal innovative technology involves the plantation of wetland species such as Canna Indica and Cyperus papyrus. These plant species fix nitrogen and phosphorus, primary pollutants in wastewater.

• Their roots grow in water and act as a medium for bacterial growth. This bacteria acts as an agent and fixes pollutants such as ammonia while consuming oxygen.

Revived Lakes

Let's take a look at these revived lakes up close…

1. Rajokri Lake^[4]

Location: South West Delhi on the Gurgaon Delhi border
Size: This lake is 2 acres in size
Walking Track: Yes

2. Pappan kalan lakes^[6][7]

Location: Dwarka, West Delhi
Features 2 lakes, covering 11 acres
Capacity: 55 million gallons of water
Source: Pappankalan sewage treatment plant
Walking track: Yes

• Currently, 20 million gallons of water is fed to the lake everyday

• This lake is scientifically designed to carry out high-rate recharging of groundwater

3. Rohini Lakes^[7:1]

Locattion: Rohini, North West Delhi.
Features 2 major lakes, spanning 17 acres.
Walking Track: Yes
Water Source: Rohini Wastewater Treatment Plant

4. Nilothi Lakes^[8]

Location: near Vikaspuri, West Delhi
Features 3 lakes, spanning 11 acres
Walking Track: Yes
Capacity: 255 million litres of water

5. Iradatnagar Lake

Location: North West Delhi
Features 4 lakes, spanning 6 acres
Walking Track: No
Source: Rithala STP

6. Dwarka WTP Lake

Location: Najafgarh, West Delhi.
Features 1 lake, spanning 4 acres.
Walking Track: No

7. Timarpur Lake^[7:2]

Location: Majnu Ka Tila, North East Delhi.
Features 1 lake, spanning 6 acres.
Walking Track: Yes
Water Source: Timarpur Sewage Treatment Plant

8. Shahdara Link Drain^[9]

Location opposite Akshardham, East Delhi.
Features 1 lake, spanning 9 acres.
Walking Track: No

9. Okhla STP Lake

Location near Batla House, Okhla, South East Delhi.
Features 1 lake, spanning 10 acres.
Walking Track: No

10. Sonia Vihar

Location: near Majnu Ka Tila, North East Delhi.
Features 1 lake, spanning 4 acres.
Walking Track: No

11. Sannoth Lake^[10]

Location: near Narela, North West Delhi.
Features 1 lake, spanning 4 acres
Facilities: Playground for children, a picnic garden, a walkway, Chhath Puja Ghat, and a gym for the general public.
Trees like Neem, Semal, Champa, and Babool planted around Sannoth Lake
Walking Track: Yes

12. Naraina Lake

Location: Naraina, West Delhi
Features 1 lake, spanning 5 acres
Walking Track: Yes

13. Roshanara Lake^[11]

Location: Old Delhi
Features 1 lake, spanning 4 acres
Walking Track: Yes

14. Bhalaswa Lake

Location: Shalimar Bagh, North West Delhi
Size: One of the largest lakes of Delhi, is spread across 127 acres
Walking Track: Yes

15. Smriti Van Lake

Location: near Vasant Kunj, South West Delhi
Size: This lake is spread across 6 acres
Walking Track: Yes

16. Paschim Vihar Lake^[12]

Location: West Delhi
Size: This lake is spread across 2.5 acres
Walking Track: No
Source: Waste Treatment plant at Keshavpuram via a 4-km long pipeline

17. Tikri Khurd Lake^[13][12:1]

Location: northern border of Delhi
Size: This lake is spread across 17 acres.
Walking Track: No
Source: STP at Narela

18. Satpulla Lake^[13:1]

Location: Malviya Nagar, South Delhi
Size: This lake is spread across 5 acres
Walking Track: No

19. Sanjay Van Lake^[14][15][16]

Location: Vasant Kunj, Delhi
Size: This lake is spread across a sprawling 51 acres.
Walking Track: Yes
Source: Vasant Kunj Wastewater Treatment Plant

20. Najafgarh STP Lake^[17][18]

Location: in Najafgarh, West Delhi.
Features: 1 lake, spanning 4 acres.
Walking Track: No

Why City of Lakes?

i. Main Objective: Sustainable Augmentation of Water Supply

• Delhi currently relies on fixed water share of rivers from its neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to fulfil its water requirements

• With an ever-growing population and proportional increase in water demand, Delhi finds itself in a water deficit situation

• Need of sustainable solution to this pertaining water problem led to Delhi City of lakes

ii. Local recreational spots for public

iii. Beautification of local area

References:

1. https://dpgs.delhi.gov.in/sites/default/files/DPGS/generic_multiple_files/wb_list_1045_1.pdf ↩︎

2. https://cityoflakesdelhi.com/2022/11/20/floating-wetlands-with-aeration/ ↩︎

3. https://cityoflakesdelhi.com/2022/11/20/swab/ ↩︎

4. https://cityoflakesdelhi.com/2022/10/19/rajokri-lake-revitalisation/ ↩︎

5. https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2020/aug/31/rajokri-lake-revived-by-delhi-government-wins-jal-shakti-ministry-award-2190558.html ↩︎

6. https://cityoflakesdelhi.com/2022/10/19/pappankalan-lake-development/ ↩︎

7. https://cityoflakesdelhi.com/2022/11/20/delhis-newest-lakes-are-fuelled-by-wastewater/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

8. https://www.outlookindia.com/national/3-artificial-lakes-at-nilothi-to-recharge-aquifers-using-treated-wastewater-from-stp-delhi-government-news-252529 ↩︎

9. https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2022/may/10/shahdara-drain-revival-takes-off-2451843.html ↩︎

10. https://cityoflakesdelhi.com/2022/10/19/sannoth-lake/ ↩︎

11. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/revival-of-mughal-lake-to-start-by-sept-end/articleshow/85193512.cms ↩︎

12. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/djbs-city-of-lakes-project-for-50-water-bodies-in-the-capital-a-fresh-lease-of-life-by-the-year-end-7444891/ ↩︎ ↩︎

13. https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2019/aug/25/revival-of-delhis-satpula-lake-2023846.html ↩︎ ↩︎

14. https://cityoflakesdelhi.com/2022/10/20/sanjay-van-lake/ ↩︎

15. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-jal-board-sets-up-floating-wetlands-to-clean-lakes-7465308/ ↩︎

16. https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2021/aug/20/djb-cleans-sanjay-van-lake-under-rejuvenation-plan-2347289.html ↩︎

17. https://cityoflakesdelhi.com/2023/06/06/najafgarh-lake/ ↩︎

18. https://cityoflakesdelhi.com/2023/06/06/reimagining-najafgarh-a-serene-artificial-lake-brings-life-to-delhis-city-of-lakes/ ↩︎