India's lakes and wetlands, once lifeline for its cities, are vanishing at an alarming rate, driven by rampant corruption and unchecked construction

Urban lakes and wetlands are an integral part of our ecosystem. They perform critical environmental, social, and economic functions as they are a source of drinking water, recharge groundwater and support biodiversity besides providing livelihoods. But the life of these indispensable water bodies is ebbing under the relentless onslaught of population, corrupt administrations, and construction mafia. A study by Wetlands International has shown that two out of every five wetlands in India have been lost in the last 30 years, and of the remaining water bodies 40% are unable to support aquatic life due to loss of water quality. But this plunder of water bodies of India did not happen overnight but over some time.

Take the case of Bengaluru for instance. In the late 18th century, a British expedition tasked by Governor General Cornwallis to find an alternative route between Madras and Srirangapatna stumbled upon Bengaluru which was full of lakes and water bodies.

The captain heading the expedition thereafter referred to it as the Land of Thousand Lakes in his reports. However, today Bengaluru is a pale version of its once illustrious past. In 1960 Bengaluru had 262 lakes but today only 10 of them hold water.

The city saw a shocking decline in its water bodies as exploitation and population grew in equal measure. Lakes and water bodies are disappearing at an alarming pace at the city level and state level as well. According to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry report, Karnataka lost an astounding 13,000 water bodies in just one year between 2021 and 2022.

This is the case with every city in India. Ahmedabad for instance had 137 lakes in 2001 but as per recent reports, construction has been seen on 65 of them now. The national capital Delhi too is being robbed of its water bodies. According to a Delhi government report, nearly half (49.1%) of Delhi’s official water bodies do not exist anymore – they have either gone “missing” or have been encroached upon.

The entire nation more or less presents the same depressing scenario. But recently a state government sat up, took notice, and acted.The Telangana state government’s Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) initiative to reclaim encroached land of water bodies in Hyderabad and surrounding areas has made national headlines. The HYDRAA team created in July this year and headed by an IPS officer was given a clear-cut mandate by the state chief minister Revanth Reddy to free the city water bodies of illegal encroachments and construction.

The Full Tank Level (FTL) was kept as the parameter by HYDRAA and any construction or encroachment within 30 meters of FTL was made subject to demolition. The agency has been given a free hand and made immune to political pressures with zero tolerance being practiced even if the encroachment belongs to prominent politicians or businesspeople of the city. Notably, even the chief minister’s brother was served notice for demolition.

This drive conducted diligently and without bowing to any pressure was able to remove 262 unauthorised encroachments built-in water bodies, government lands, urban canals and parks in 23 locations in the city have been removed and 111.72 acres of land have been reclaimed to date. The state government has issued further instructions making it compulsory to take HYDRAA NOC before commencing any construction near lakes.

The actions of HYDRAA have instilled a sense of confidence among the environmentalists not only in Telangana but also across India and are being seen as a case study in governance especially about safeguarding environmental assets such as water bodies. But as is expected with any groundbreaking initiative, the step taken by the Telangana government too has off late been soundly criticised for being inhuman due to the demolishing of houses of the poor and those who were paying loans for the same. Given this adverse feedback, the state government has issued clarifications to the effect that occupied houses will not be demolished.

The HYDRAA initiative is an example and a clarion call for the rest of the nation to wake up rescue and reclaim its water bodies. This is crucial in light of reports released by the United Nations and Niti Ayog which state that water demand will reach twice the available supply, and 40 per cent of India’s population will not have access to clean drinking water by 2030. To prevent a grim and parched future, the central government in collaboration with state government and local environmental groups must establish a Wetland Task Force for every state.

The state-specific task force must have a clear mandate to reclaim every water body in its jurisdiction by clearing out encroachments, demolishing illegal construction and preventing changes in land use.Apart from enforcement duty, the task force must also have an enabling role that is focused on replenishing and rejuvenating the wetlands and water bodies in its jurisdiction. For instance, the task force can encourage urban households and businesses to implement rainwater harvesting practices on their premises. The water harvested can be channelled towards improving the groundwater table and recharging the aquifers. Additionally, the government can, through the task force regulate the borewells in the urban areas.

Indiscriminate and unregulated drilling for water in metropolitan areas has caused the drying up of the groundwater table. The task force team can save the city's water resources by ensuring that prior permissions are taken to drill borewells.

Furthermore, the task force team can install water meters to ensure that water extraction is done in a measured and quantified manner.Currently, there have been many instances where local leaders, with political affiliations “adopt” lakes and water bodies in the name of preserving them and slowly encroach the property.

After that, in connivance with builder mafia construction is done on the property which is then sold to unsuspecting citizens. The wetland task force can prevent this and play a pivotal role in ensuring that no individual or commercial company is entrusted with safeguarding the lakes and water bodies as this can result in manipulation.

Water bodies are India’s lifelines. Reclaiming the lost ones and preserving the remaining can alone ensure a water secure future for our nation.

(The writer is a policy analyst, views expressed are personal)