Pond rejuvenation in Sonipat (Sonepat)

Sonipat's ponds in numbers

• The 1st Census of Water Bodies counted 982 water bodies in Sonipat district, 964 of them ponds. 163 were not in use. See them on the ponds page for Sonipat.
• The Haryana Water Resources Atlas 2025 maps 1,945 ponds covering 4,045 acres from satellite data, and counts 33,041 irrigation tubewells in the district.
• The Central Ground Water Board puts Sonipat's groundwater use at 109% of what can safely be taken out each year (2025), which it rates over-exploited. See the groundwater page for Sonipat.
• CGWB's pre-monsoon readings put water at 5–10 m below ground in most of its 21 monitoring wells in Sonipat district, from 2.24 m in the shallowest to 39.6 m in the deepest. See the water table page.
• CGWB's 2023 testing found salt and fluoride above the BIS limit in groundwater samples from the district, 15 of 53 samples over the limit for salt and 27 of 53 samples over the limit for fluoride. See the water quality page.
• Sonipat gets about 765 mm of rain in an average year (2006–2025), 81% of it from June to September. See the rainfall page.

What Sonipat's ponds need

In the canal and Yamuna villages, ponds rarely run dry; the trouble is that they collect village wastewater and overflow into lanes and fields in the monsoon. The work there is a separate channel for wastewater, a treatment stage and room to store clean rain.

Around Kundli, Rai and Murthal, where the water table has fallen fastest, a desilted pond with recharge shafts sends rain down to the aquifer the industries draw from. CGWB samples here also found salt and fluoride over the safe limit, so only clean rainwater, not drain water, should go into a recharge shaft.

How we rejuvenate a pond in Sonipat

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

   Separate the wastewater

   Village drains are taken around the pond in a lined channel to a small treatment pond or constructed wetland, so the main pond holds only rain.

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 Sonipat

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 Sonipat

• Gram panchayats, through MGNREGA for earthwork by village labour and Mission Amrit Sarovar.
• The Haryana Pond and Waste Water Management Authority, which runs the state's pond revival and treated wastewater programs.
• The Municipal Corporation of Sonipat for ponds inside the city.
• CSR: pond revival is a Schedule VII activity for companies. See CSR water conservation projects.
• Industries in Kundli, Rai and Barhi, and the university campuses around Sonipat, as part of their recharge conditions.

Where we work

All of Sonipat district: Sonipat city, Ganaur, Gohana, Kharkhoda, Rai, Kundli and the villages around them. We also work in Panipat, Rohtak and Delhi.

Frequently asked questions