LG Saxena, Kejriwal visit Asola-Bhatti mines

New Delhi: Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena, along with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, on Sunday visited the Asola-Bhatti Mines forest area and directed officials to prepare a master plan for developing the area into a world class eco-tourism destination, said an official statement.

Saxena directed the officials to prepare within 30 days a master plan for developing the large abundant pits into reservoirs for collecting rain, flood and storm water, recharging groundwater and enhancing the area into a world class eco-tourism destination, the statement added. The move comes after the LG's earlier visit on May 31. The master plan will be prepared by a committee of officers of the concerned departments in consultation with experts and institutions. The eco-tourism component of the master plan will include provisions of creating butterfly trails, wildlife trails, cycle tracks, walking tracks, bird-watching spots and ropeways, amongst others.

The statement said that Saxena, Kejriwal and Sisodia were in unison on the desirability of developing the 14 pits (four large and 10 small), with a holding capacity of more than 800 million gallons of water, into reservoirs that would help recharge the national capital's groundwater. It was decided to put in place a 'Master Plan for Rejuvenation and Redevelopment of Asola-Bhatti Mines' area, it said. Sunday's joint visit, along with senior officers in charge of concerned departments, witnessed an on location assessment, inputs from different stakeholder departments and a slew of specific directions and decisions.

Low-lying inhabited areas outside the forest reserve witness persistent waterlogging and flooding, about 35 per cent of which came from the gradient of the higher mines area itself.