Metropolitan Commissioner has conducted a review meeting on lakes and directed the HMDA officials to draw up a focused action plan for protection and development of lakes in the Metropolitan Area, Hyderabad. With this view, a separate lake division is being formed under the Member (Environment) with senior engineering and other staff which will focus on this activity. It will coordinate with the enforcement departments, like Collectors of the concerned districts, GHMC, Municipalities, Gram Panchayats and the Irrigation Department to ensure adequate protection of the lakes.
The Action Plan is divided into three parts – lakes falling in Central Basin (Hussainsagar Catchment Area), Lakes falling within erstwhile HUDA area and lakes falling in the extended areas of HMDA.
All the lakes in the Hussain Sagar catchment area (Central Basin) shall be listed in a computerized format and their memoirs shall be updated. The team consisting of HMDA engineers, GHMC staff, Irrigation Department and Revenue Department staff from the concerned districts (as allotted by District Collectors) shall visit these lakes and assess the requirement of intervention to be taken up for the lake restoration and specifically to begin the protection of lakes and its FTL. Thus, through the process of field verification the lake memoirs shall be updated. Deputy Executive Engineers, HMDA (Lakes & Parks) Division shall lead the three Teams’ personnel drafted from Revenue, Irrigation (by concerned District Collectors) and from GHMC.
LAKES IN HUDA AREA
In the meantime, another team in Division of Lakes & Parks shall start working on preparation of basin and sub-basin approach for remaining lakes in the erstwhile HUDA area from out of 501 lakes as per the data available. These lakes shall be appropriately categorized and similar steps taken for the field verification of above lakes.
LAKES IN EXTENDED AREA OF HMDA
HMDA will coordinate with the Revenue Department and NRSA for taking up the latest digital map of the lake in the HMDA area, and a record of all tanks in HMDA area in a computerized format will be prepared. Thereafter, the lakes with 10 Ha area and above and smaller important tanks have to be listed, field inspected and action taken for protection and development. (NSS)