Supreme Court Petition Aims to Safeguard All Wetlands as per 2017 Conservation Rules
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New Delhi, Dec 22 (NationPress) A petition has been submitted to the Supreme Court, requesting a directive that all wetlands measuring less than 2.25 hectares be officially recognized and safeguarded under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.
The motion seeks direction in an ongoing case concerning the conservation of wetlands and various water bodies, including ponds, tanks, canals, creeks, and water channels.
The petitioners, Manu Bhatnagar and Vikrant Tongad, indicated that the rapid decline of water bodies, including wetlands such as ponds, lakes, oxbows, johads (traditional rainwater harvesting systems), tanks, channels, streams, and reservoirs, poses a significant threat to the drinking water supply for millions of citizens throughout the nation, jeopardizing water security and the survival of numerous individuals.
"It is not only essential but also an urgent and pressing necessity to conserve, protect, and enhance all water bodies—whether they are natural or man-made—to meet the fundamental drinking water requirements of millions of citizens across the country," the petition stated.
It further noted that various water bodies such as ponds, lakes, oxbows, johads, tanks, channels, streams, and reservoirs are being alarmingly encroached upon throughout the country, primarily because they are not recognized or documented in revenue records or maps.
The petition called for all water bodies, whether natural or constructed, to be legally protected at their highest flood levels, and for wetlands, including seasonal ones or those that shrink in the dry season, to be recorded in revenue records/maps at their highest extent during a typical monsoon.
The petition referenced the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti's First Census Report on Water Bodies, published in April 2023.
"The census identified a total of 24,24,540 water bodies nationwide, with 97.1 percent (23,55,055) located in rural areas and only 2.9 percent (69,485) in urban regions. Of the 24,24,540 recorded water bodies, details on 'water spread area' were provided for 23,37,638 of them. Among these, 72.4 percent have a water spread area of less than 0.5 hectares, while only 3.1 percent exceed 5 hectares," the petition emphasized.
In 2017, the Supreme Court had mandated the states to create brief documents for 2,01,503 wetlands and to ensure their protection under Rule 4 of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010.
