GREEN PITCH: Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya supervises the civic takeover of a pond in Kasba. A Telegraph picture

The civic authorities have announced a policy to take over the management of privately-owned ponds, parks and playgrounds that are lying in neglect.

“We will not allow filling up of ponds and encroachment of parks and playgrounds. If the owners find it difficult to maintain them, we are ready to take over their control,” said mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya.

Waterbodies and vacant plots that are being used for years as parks and playgrounds play a key role in Calcutta’s ecology, the mayor explained. “Ponds also help prevent waterlogging and keep the temperature in the localities under check.”

The Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) has also decided to make “special provisions” in the civic budget 2008-2009 for the preservation of private ponds, parks and playgrounds.

“Since acquisition of private waterbodies and playgrounds will take a long time, we have decided to take over their management for now,” said municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay.

Mayoral council member (lighting and environment) Sushil Sharma said the civic authorities have taken over the control of a dozen waterbodies in the past decade and spent over Rs 1.2 crore on their preservation.

Civic records reveal that the city had 1,200 ponds in the late-1970s, of which 900 have been filled up. Multi-storeyed buildings now stand on these plots.

There were over 10,000 waterbodies in Jadavpur, Behala and Garden Reach when they were merged with the CMC in 1984. The merger had brought about a realty boom in the added areas — covering 87 sq km — but at the cost of the waterbodies. Today, these areas have only around 4,000 ponds.

In the city proper, there are little more than 350 ponds, most of which are on the eastern fringes.