Preservation and conservation of the Dal Lake has become a white elephant. It is so because the Government spends Rs. 80 crores on the conservation and development of the Dal Lake. But the major amount has been swindled by the authorities of the LAWDA in connivance with the encroachers. In fact the size of the Lake has shrunk and it is tale of neglect. As encroachers are eating into the waters of Dal Lake with tacit government support, a University of Kashmir (KU) study has put 32 percent of the lake area as "severely degraded". The nexus between the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) officials and the encroachers is visible at Moti Mahal hamlet inside the lake where new shops, residential houses, parking spaces, and other structures are being built openly with the aid of LAWDA administration.
The construction material - sand, cement, stones and bricks - is available deep inside the lake where trucks unload it after which the boats take it to the different locations. Katchi, Katte Mohalla and other 58 hamlets Schools, playgrounds, shops and other business establishments come up inside the lake population growth rate more than double national growth rate Govt's plan to reallocate Dal dwellers to Rakh-e-Arth failed with just 700 of the 10,000 families shifting out". The nexus between the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) officials and the encroachers is visible at Moti Mahal hamlet inside the lake where new shops, residential houses, parking spaces, and other structures are being built openly with the aid of LAWDA administration.
The construction material - sand, cement, stones and bricks - is available deep inside the lake where trucks unload it after which the boats take it to the different locations. This has resulted in the shrinking areas of the Lake. And it is for the central Government that it should set up a Board on its own, comprising experts, lake preservation experts and economists, that may take up the Dal Lake Development project. It is better if the LAWDA is shut and let the central Government ensure proper utilization of funds. And it is time for the central Government to ensure proper utilization of central Government funds released on various other development projects. |
