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Pond rejuvenation · Agra

Pond rejuvenation in Agra

Agra's villages have over 2,000 ponds, but much of the district's groundwater is salty or high in fluoride, and the district now pumps out more than is recharged. Ponds that hold clean rain are one of the few sources of sweet water in its western and southern blocks. TerraSetu, an engineering and construction firm based in Gurugram, surveys ponds in Agra, prepares the DPR and BOQ, desilts and deepens them, builds inlets, banks and ghats, keeps sewage out and hands them back to whoever owns them.

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Agra's ponds in numbers

  • The 1st Census of Water Bodies counted 2,421 water bodies in Agra district, 2,396 of them ponds. 508 were not in use and 285 were encroached. See them on the ponds page for Agra.
  • The Central Ground Water Board puts Agra's groundwater use at 111% of what can safely be taken out each year (2025), which it rates over-exploited. See the groundwater page for Agra.
  • CGWB's 2023 testing found salt and fluoride above the BIS limit in groundwater samples from the district. See the water quality page.
  • Agra gets about 716 mm of rain in an average year (2006–2025), 85% of it from June to September. See the rainfall page.

What Agra's ponds need

Where the groundwater is saline, a pond stores rain for cattle, washing and irrigation and keeps a layer of fresh water over the salty water below. Deepening helps it hold water longer through Agra's long dry season; recharge shafts are used only where the water below is fresh.

Many of the district's ponds have been encroached on or cut off from their catchments by roads. The revenue record fixes the boundary, and new inlets with silt traps bring the runoff back.

How we rejuvenate a pond in Agra

  1. Records and survey

    We take the pond's boundary from the revenue records, then GPS-survey the bed levels, silt depth, inlets, outlets, encroachments and every drain that enters it.

  2. Test the groundwater first

    We test the water under the pond for salinity and fluoride, which decides whether the bed gets recharge shafts or is kept sealed as storage.

  3. DPR and BOQ

    Storage before and after, catchment and inflow, drawings, an item-wise cost and a schedule that the owner or a CSR committee can approve. Work out the volumes first with the pond volume calculator.

  4. Desilt, deepen and build

    Excavators remove the silt sealing the bed; clean silt goes to farmers' fields. Then silt traps on every inlet, earthen or stone-pitched banks, ghats and steps.

  5. Plant, fence and hand over

    Plantation, fencing and signboards, then handover with as-built drawings and a yearly upkeep plan.

What pond rejuvenation costs in Agra

Earthwork is the biggest cost. One acre dug 1 m deeper moves about 4,050 m³ of silt; where farmers nearby take it, carting costs little, and where it must be hauled away, the price rises.

Pond size and workIndicative cost with GST
1 acre, desilt 1 m, inlet silt trap, earthen embankment₹9 lakh to ₹15 lakh
1 acre, desilt 1.5 m, stone pitching on the slopes, one ghat₹20 lakh to ₹31 lakh
3 acres, desilt 1 m, pitching, walkway, wastewater channel₹45 lakh to ₹70 lakh

The same ranges as our pond rejuvenation page, for budgeting. Silt depth, carting distance, sewage diversion and stone pitching move the price most; the survey fixes it.

Who pays for pond work in Agra

  • Gram panchayats, through MGNREGA for earthwork by village labour and Mission Amrit Sarovar, under which Uttar Pradesh built and revived more ponds than any other state.
  • The state's Khet Talab Yojana for farm ponds on private land.
  • The Agra Municipal Corporation and the Agra Development Authority for ponds inside the city.
  • CSR: pond revival is a Schedule VII activity for companies. See CSR water conservation projects.

Where we work

All of Agra district: the city, Fatehpur Sikri, Kiraoli, Kheragarh, Bah, Etmadpur and the villages around them. Our survey team travels from Gurugram, so we take on projects of an acre or more here.

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Frequently asked questions

Who does pond rejuvenation in Agra?

TerraSetu, a Gurugram engineering and construction firm, does pond rejuvenation in Agra, from the survey and DPR to desilting, sewage diversion, stone work and handover, for gram panchayats, CSR teams, civic bodies and campuses.

How much does pond rejuvenation cost in Agra?

Most one acre ponds cost ₹9 lakh to ₹31 lakh with GST, depending on silt depth, carting distance and how much stone pitching is needed. A three acre pond with a walkway and a wastewater channel is ₹45 lakh to ₹70 lakh.

How many ponds are there in Agra?

The 1st Census of Water Bodies counted 2,396 ponds among 2,421 water bodies in Agra district, and 508 water bodies were not in use.

Does reviving a pond help groundwater in Agra?

Yes. Agra uses 111% of its safe groundwater each year, so a desilted pond with clean inlets puts back water that would otherwise run off or evaporate.

Who gives permission to revive a pond in Agra?

Village ponds are gram sabha land recorded in the revenue records. The gram panchayat passes a resolution, the tehsil confirms the boundary and removes encroachment, and the work goes through the block. Ponds inside the city fall under the municipal corporation or ADA.

When should pond work in Agra start?

Site work takes 6 to 12 weeks for most one to three acre ponds and has to finish before the monsoon reaches Agra, usually in late June. Start the survey and approvals by January.

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