Munak Canal revamp in Delhi could come at a green cost

The Delhi government intends to develop a 20-kilometre elevated corridor along the Munak Canal from Bawana to Inderlok, as part of a project to revamp it.

The project aims to beautify the canal front, with walking and cycling tracks, cultural spaces, and environmentally sustainable design elements, according to The Hindustan Times.

However, the elevated road may come at a cost. The land for it belongs to Haryana’s irrigation and flood control department, which has said the corridor is a “protected forest”. Moreover, there are over 2,000 trees that line the stretch of the canal in Delhi.

The Munak Canal was built between 2003 and 2012 as part of the Western Yamuna Canal system. It carries over 1,000 cusecs of Yamuna water daily to Delhi via two branches—the Carrier Line Channel and the Delhi Sub Branch.

The canal starts in Karnal, Haryana, flows south before ending in Delhi near Haiderpur. Its total length is 102 km long, of which 85 km lies in Haryana and 17 km in Delhi.