The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) officials, from top to bottom, are known for their thoroughness in vetting records and based on that passing strictures. Mention of ministries and various departments in CAG reports points out the lacunae, bloopers as also shortcomings therein. These detailed notes and recommended suggestions therein have often helped initiate course corrections. This year’s CAG report on the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir flags many issues and lakes have been identified as an area of concern.
The CAG report lists alarming degradation of lakes, revealing that 518 out of 697 natural lakes, over 74 per cent, have either disappeared or decreased in size since 1967. This has led to significant ecological imbalance, loss of biodiversity because of drastic changes in ecosystems. From aquatic to marsh, from marshy lands to becoming islands and from there to land being reclaimed for human habitation is mostly an irreversible journey.
As per the CAG report on the conservation of lakes for the year ended March 31, 2024, out of the total 697 lakes with a total area of 28,990 hectares, as many as 315 lakes covering 1,537.07 hectares have disappeared. The area of 203 lakes shrank by 1,314.19 hectares. Encroachments by politically connected in urban areas, or encroachments in inaccessible areas produce the same results, a shrinkage of habitats for flaura and fauna. “There was total decrease and disappearance of area of 2,851.26 hectares in 518 lakes,” the report said.
Shrinking Wullar
The story of Asia’s largest freshwater lake Wullar is eerily similar as is that of Dal and other lakes in Srinagar city. The CAG strongly recommended a series of measures for effective conservation and management of lakes in Jammu and Kashmir, stressing the need for a structured and time-bound approach.
It said this large-scale shrinkage has disrupted ecological services and adverse impacts on water, food and biodiversity. The reduction in area of lakes has contributed to climate insecurity. It was one of the factors behind the devastating Kashmir floods in September 2014 as the natural sponge of Kashmir, the Wullar lake, has degraded, highlighting that lakes act as natural flood buffers.
Among the 203 lakes that recorded shrinkage, 63 have lost more than 50 per cent of their area, putting them at high risk of extinction, it added. The CAG attributed the disappearance and degradation of lakes primarily to changes in land use within lake bodies. Also their catchment areas, along with deforestation, climate change and unregulated human activities.
The CAG has pointed out to significant changes in land use and water cover of the iconic Dal lake, pointing to a shrinkage of the water body from 15.40 square kilometres in 2007 to 12.91 square kilometres in 2020, registering a decline of 10.15 per cent in 13 years. It is being treated by a section of local residents as a golden goose but the threat of its inadvertent killing it looms large.
A robust lake management policy to ensure effective functioning and upgrade of sewage treatment plants (STPs) alone can help the heavily polluted lake.
“It may be seen from data that during 2007-2020, there was a decrease from 15.40 to 12.91 square kilometres (10.15 per cent) in the water body with (respect to) submerged vegetation and open water of the lake, while there was increase in other land uses such as floating vegetation from 5.262 to 6.796 square kilometres (6.23 per cent), crop land and plantation from 2.29 to 2.85 square kilometres (2.27 per cent), and built-up from 0.743 to 1.025 square kilometres (1.15 per cent),” the report said.
Encroachments on Dal
The report said there was a decrease in vacant land with or without vegetation from 0.40 to 0.36 square kilometres (0.17 per cent). This has happened due to dredging of some acquired land and the decrease in open water area was at the cost of other land use changes. It said the shifting land use pattern reflects growing pressure on the lake ecosystem, with shrinking open water and expanding human-induced activities altering its ecological balance.
The CAG observed that no concrete measures were taken by the Lakes Conservation and Management Authority (LC&MA) to regulate land use, nor were reasons for such changes adequately analysed.
Audit findings attributed the deterioration to non-acquisition of land from Dal lake dwellers, malfunctioning STPs, failure to arrest pollution inflows, improper de-weeding, and weak monitoring.
As a result, the inflow of nutrients increased, leading to excessive weed growth and further shrinkage of the lake’s open water area, the report said, adding that encroachments in areas such as Mir Behri, Lati Mohalla and Nandapora contributed to expansion of floating gardens and habitation.
The audit also flagged serious deficiencies in the implementation of conservation programmes under the National Lake Conservation Programme (NLCP) and the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Programme (PMRP).
STP Installations
“Key activities such as installation and upgradation of STPs, solid waste management, sewer networking, relocation of houseboats and hotels, catchment management, and rehabilitation of Dal dwellers were either delayed or inadequately executed,” the report stated.
Despite an expenditure of more than Rs 45 crore on STPs, the audit found that sewage was not treated as per prescribed standards, resulting in continued deterioration of water quality. “Untreated waste from households, houseboats and hotels continued to flow into the lake due to incomplete sewer networks and delays in connecting households and houseboats to treatment systems.”
The report further highlighted underutilisation of funds, ranging between Rs 48.63 crore and Rs 280.68 crore during 2017-22, and pointed to delays caused by stalled board meetings, lack of project management consultants, and failure to prepare detailed project reports for pending works.
Efforts to relocate Dal dwellers and houseboats also fell short, with only a fraction of targeted land and structures acquired and no significant dredging carried out on acquired land. Similarly, shifting of hotels and establishment of effective surveillance mechanisms remained incomplete, it added.
The CAG noted that catchment management works were inadequate, with only four out of 15 identified micro-watersheds taken up, also flagging shortcomings in structural and vegetative measures, training programmes and monitoring systems.
Describing the lake as the “liquid heart” of Srinagar, located at an altitude of 1,583 metres, the audit warned that continued delays and inadequate conservation efforts have hindered restoration of its water expanse and ecological health.
The CAG recommended periodic monitoring of water spread, a robust lake management policy, effective functioning of STPs, improved sewage and solid waste treatment, and expedited implementation of key conservation measures.
It also called for public awareness campaigns to curb unauthorised construction and better monitoring of nutrient inflows into the lake.
The audit said unless systemic gaps in planning, execution and monitoring are addressed, restoration of Dal lake’s shrinking water body would remain a challenge.
