Jal Jeevan Hariyali Mission bihar

State government was supposed to make 9,044 public ponds free of encroachment under its Jal Jeevan Hariyali Mission launched in 2018.

Even in Patna, hundreds of ponds have disappeared in the last four decades. The Patna branch of All India Institute of Medical Sciences was constructed after filling in 35 acres of lakes.

 Netaji Subhas Park in the southeast corner of Gandhi Maidan, Indira Gandhi Planetarium near Kotwali, Vaishali Cinema below Rajendra Nagar overbridge, A-G office near Sultan Palace and the entire Saidpur complex of Patna University are all sites of “dead” water bodies.

 

“There were nearly 1,000 lakes in Patna, but their numbers have come down to a little over 200. Several residential localities have been developed after big ponds were filled,” said Geological Survey of India retired director N Dayal. “Patna’s ponds, including Kachchi Talaab, Sachivalay Talaab, Manikchand Talaab and Adalatgannj Talaab may not survive for long,” he added. Early this week

 Bihar rural development minister Sharvan Kumar told the state assembly that the government would make 9,044 public ponds free of encroachment under the mission over next three years. Only 531 ponds have been made encroachment-free so far, state fisheries minister Mukesh Shahni told the state Assembly March 16. Shahni added that the department has directed all districts to start the work at the earliest. Of the 96,000 ponds in the state, 30,672 are public ponds, he added. 

 Darbhanga had 350 ponds in 1960, according to the district gazetteer. The number dipped to 250 in the 1990s, with fewer than 100 ponds now, according to data from the district municipality. Most ponds in the state are seasonal; some are also perennial. They help develop aquaculture while seasonal ponds are highly suitable for rearing of seed — fry, fingerlings and yearlings.