Pond rejuvenation in Delhi

Delhi's ponds in numbers

• The 1st Census of Water Bodies counted 893 water bodies in Delhi, 525 of them ponds. 656 were not in use and 216 were encroached. See them on the ponds page for Delhi.
• The Central Ground Water Board puts Delhi's groundwater use at 92% of what can safely be taken out each year (2025), which it rates critical. See the groundwater page for Delhi.
• CGWB's pre-monsoon readings put water at 10–20 m below ground in most of its 82 monitoring wells in Delhi, from 0.71 m in the shallowest to 65 m in the deepest.
• Delhi gets about 803 mm of rain in an average year (2006–2025), 82% of it from June to September. See the rainfall page.

What Delhi's ponds need

In Delhi's urban villages, the pond is often the lowest point of the settlement and every drain ends in it. Before any desilting, sewage has to be taken out of the pond, usually into the sewer line or a small decentralised treatment plant that then feeds the pond with treated water.

Several agencies own Delhi's water bodies: the Delhi Development Authority, the Delhi Jal Board, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, the municipal corporation, the forest department and gram sabhas. Getting the owner's consent and a clear boundary is the first step, and the Delhi State Wetland Authority keeps the list of protected water bodies.

How we rejuvenate a pond in Delhi

1. 01

   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. 02

   Take sewage out

   Drains entering the pond are tapped into the sewer or a small treatment plant, and only treated water and rain are let into the pond.

3. 03

   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. 04

   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. 05

   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 Delhi

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.

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 Delhi

• The Delhi Jal Board, which runs Delhi's lake revival program using treated wastewater.
• The Delhi Development Authority, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department and the municipal corporation, for the water bodies on their land.
• CSR: pond revival is a Schedule VII activity for companies. See CSR water conservation projects.
• Resident welfare associations, campuses and institutions reviving a pond with the owning agency's consent.

Where we work

All of Delhi, with most village ponds in the North, North West, South West and West districts. We also work in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Sonipat.

Frequently asked questions