5 deadlines later, Badkhal Lake revival remains work in progress

With many development works launched as part of the Rs 1,000-crore Smart city project, the slow pace of revival of the Badkhal Lake is an issue of concern.

Launched in 2018, the project is still awaiting to see the light of day, though several crores have been spent. The lake dried up in 2002 due to various factors, including mining and excessive extraction of groundwater.

The project has missed the deadlines of December 2020, December 2021, June 2022, June 2023 and June 2024, it is revealed. It remained stalled or disrupted for almost three years due to lack of NOC from the Forest Department and the Covid pandemic.

While Rs 79 crore had been earmarked initially, the overall budget is likely to shoot up to Rs 100 crore, it is claimed. Faridabad Smart City Limited (FSCL), carrying out the project, had released a tender of Rs 3 crore for the removal of weeds, but was withdrawn due to overpricing, it is revealed. A revised tender will now be released.

Though water has nearly been refilled in the lake with the help of an STP developed especially for it, structures like Marina Bay and bundh to make it tourist friendly is only half-complete, as per sources in the local administration.

The structures will have two levels of decks for food courts and facilities like boating and ghats. The work on the structures is likely to be completed in one year, said a worker.

Sunil Harsana, an environmental activist, said the lake, developed during British rule, had dried up mainly due to disturbance in the flow of water from various channels caused by mining work and extraction of groundwater by borewells installed in its vicinity. Mining had led to the development of deep pits in the hills. It was embanked by the British to prevent flooding during monsoon, he said. Spread over 42 acres in the Aravallis, the lake was a popular tourist spot till 2001.

Seema Trikha, a former MLA, who has been pushing it as her "pet project", said the issue of delayed payments was one of the reasons behind the slow pace of work. The matter would be taken up with the CM soon, she said.

Arvind Kumar, DGM (FSCL), claimed that the work would be completed in about six months.