After plaint, Rewari village pond set for overhaul

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, August 22

Acting on a complaint that waste water from houses was accumulating into the main pond of Kharkara village in Rewari district, the authorities have planned to rejuvenate the pond at a cost of Rs 1.12 crore. The Development and Panchayat Department has floated a tender in this regard.

Hearing underway with NGT

Prakash Yadav of Kharkara village had filed a complaint with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) claiming that the waste water discharged from houses accumulated in the village pond after flowing through drains. “It not only pollutes the pond water but also affects the quality of ground water,” he stated.

The action is being taken as a complaint was filed with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by Prakash Yadav of Kharkhara village.

In his complaint, Yadav claimed that water discharged from houses in the village accumulated in the pond after flowing through drains. “This is not only polluting the pond water but also affecting the quality of ground water. Many villagers, especially children, have fallen ill after consuming contaminated water,” he claimed.

“Some years ago, a sum of Rs 37 lakh was spent to lay a pipeline to divert dirty water away from the village pond. Under the project, a big pit was dug to collect the dirty water but it is still flowing into the village pond,” Yadav told The Tribune.

He said the NGT had recently asked the Haryana Pond and Waste Water Management Authority to give details of the works undertaken under the project by collecting the relevant information from the authorities concerned.

“The NGT has also directed the authorities concerned to expedite and complete the process of latest tendering and completion of work for rejuvenation of the pond without any delay,” said Yadav, adding that no funds would be taken from the village panchayat for the work.

Kanta Devi, a social activist, said the rejuvenation of the pond was necessary as it is a symbol of faith for the villagers and also has historical and ecological significance. “There was a time when villagers used its water for household works. They used to sit around it under the shadow of trees to discuss village issues. However, over the years, the condition of these ‘johads’ has deteriorated,” she added. The villagers demanded that another pond should be constructed away from the houses in which dirty water should be discharged.

Narendra Gulia, Executive Engineer, Development and Panchayat Department, told The Tribune that the deadline to submit applications for the tendering process pertaining to the development and rejuvenation of Kharkara village pond was likely to end soon, after which the work would be started.