Neela Hauz biodiversity park
Neela Hauz biodiversity park | |
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Type | Natural Area |
Location | along Aruna Asaf Ali Road, South Central Ridge, Delhi Ridge |
Nearest city | Hauz Khas, Delhi |
Coordinates | 28°31′43″N 77°10′07″E / 28.5286867°N 77.1686125°E |
Area | 3.90 hectares[1] |
Created | 2015 |
Operated by | Delhi Development Authority |
Status | Open |
Neela Hauz biodiversity park,
History
Wildlife of India |
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In 2014, of the 611 water bodies in Delhi, 274 were dead and remaining were in bad shape. Neela Hauz is a freshwater lake which was slowly dying due to the dumping of waste.[6] During ancient times it was the main source of water supply for the Rajput city of Qila Rai Pithora.[6] During ancient times, its basin was recharged by the wider dense forests of Sanjay Van and its overflow drained in to Yamuna.[6]
In 2014, the wetland was covered with
Delhi has 7,884 hectares of fragmented forests which are deprived of wild animals due to the unplanned urbanisation.
Restoration
In 2015, the Delhi Development Authority commenced the work to restore this as a biodiversity area.
Independent water testing was carried out by the Delhi Jal Board in June 2019 as part of the investigation carried out by the Ground Water Monitoring Committee appointed by the NGT. It was found that the treated effluent did not meet permissible standards.[9] Prof. C.R. Babu was to improve the parameters of the effluent but up to November 2019 no published action has been taken.
Several ridges of Delhi are being restored to revive the native species including
Flora
15,000 native plants and shrubs of 75 species from 6 bio communities were planted in 2015–16. Slopes were stabilised by planting the grasses, such as chrysopogon, heteropogon and cenchrus ciliaris. Wetland has restocked with the phytoplankton, zooplankton, free floating and rooted aquatic plants.[6]
Fauna
By 2016, the lake was home to over 70 bird species, including
See also
- Delhi Ridge
- National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries of Haryana
- Biodiversity Park, Visakhapatnam
References
- ^ a b c DDA biodiversity parks.
- ^ "DDA revives Neela Hauz biodiversity park". Business Standard. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Lake's blues end with green push". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Are biodiversity parks helping the city's environment? Delhi University experts to find out". Hindustan Times. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ a b c "Scientists engaged develop four biodiversity parks". Deccan Herald. 23 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m M Jaggi, June 2017, NOPR: Neela Hauz Biodiversity Park – From Barren to Beautiful, SR Vol.54(06).
- ^ a b Two years on, Tilpath Valley Biodiversity Park breathes again, Times of India, 23 February 2018.
- ^ Government takes steps to restore biodiversity of Kamala Nehru ridge, Millennium Post, 14 October 2014.
- ^ "Minutes of 20th Meeting held on 28.06.19 in the matter of O.A.No.496/2016 in the Hon'ble NGT" (PDF). 15 July 2019.
- ^ Delhi gets its third biodiversity park in Tilpat Valley, Hindustan Times, 3 February 2018.