Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today ordered the Lakes & Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) to immediately undertake realignment of houseboats at Doldum to prevent the untreated sewage from entering the Dal Lake here.
He also directed LAWDA to develop a model housing colony with all basic amenities at Rakh-e-Arth so that Dal Lake dwellers could be shifted there without any further delay.
He was reviewing the progress achieved under the National Lake Conservation and Management Programme (NLCP), a Rs 298.78-crore project sanctioned by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for conservation of the lake.
As regards realignment of the 388 houseboats at Doldum in the form of a cluster, the Chief Minister directed LAWDA and the Tourism Department to strictly implement the plan as it was critical to maintain the quality of the lake water.
“Unless houseboats realign, a common STP cannot be installed. With untreated sewage and refuse directly entering the lake, the enriched nutrient content will hasten uncontrolled growth of weeds in the lake,” he pointed out in the meeting.
Given the fact that LAWDA does not have an adequate number of lake-cleaning machines and the huge expanse of the lake, the Chief Minister gave approval to purchase new machines to expedite the de-weeding process.
He also directed the IGP, Kashmir Zone, to provide adequate manpower to the Enforcement Wing of LAWDA so that a proper night vigil was maintained over illegal constructions in and around the lake.In the last three months, as many as 102 illegal structures have been demolished and 49 FIRs registered against the offenders.