Restoring lakes by going beyond quick fixes

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The restored and relaunched Bathukamma Kunta lake in Amberpet, Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

C overing nearly 6% of the planet’s surface, wetlands — including urban lakes — are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They store a disproportionately large share of the world’s carbon, often outperforming terrestrial forests per unit area. Beyond carbon sequestration, they contribute immensely to biodiversity, climate regulation, and human well-being. Yet today, lakes are disappearing at an alarming pace. Many of our remaining urban wetlands are either biologically dead or heavily eutrophic. In losing them, cities are systematically eroding their natural defences against climate change, undermining public health, and threatening the very foundations of urban liveability.

The widespread destruction of water bodies is a direct consequence of rapid, unplanned urbanisation. As land pressure intensifies in crowded localities, developers and municipal bodies view these natural landscapes as vacant land rather than critical ecological infrastructure. This mindset makes lakes highly vulnerable to encroachment and systemic disappearance.

Compounding this physical destruction is a deep-rooted institutional and public apathy. Heavily polluted water bodies have become convenient spots for untreated sewage, industrial effluents, and municipal solid waste. This collective inaction reveals a grim truth: lakes are dying not only because they are encroached upon, but because they are taken for granted.

The sheer volume of data capturing this damage is overwhelming. Reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) have flagged large-scale shrinkage in J&K, including over 500 lakes since 1967. Down south, the crisis is equally acute. Hyderabad lost roughly 61% of its lake area since 1979, with 268 water bodies completely disappearing between 2002–2012 as detailed in one study. As cities grapple with intensifying heat islands and unpredictable urban flooding, there is a desperate need to treat these lifelines as ‘urban climate buffers’ and ‘sponge systems’ rather than as liabilities.

Half a century ago, land in Indian cities was relatively affordable, urban expansion was moderate, and lakes were respected for their functional civic assets. Today, land prices have multiplied manifold in the past five decades. In cities such as Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Mumbai, peri-urban land that once served as agricultural fields or natural lake catchments has mutated into prime real estate. This exponential spike has transformed lakes into a perceived “opportunity cost.” Encroachment becomes economically incentivised, leading to wetlands being filled, fragmented, and repurposed for housing, highways, and commercial complexes.

India’s recent achievement of expanding its tally of designated Ramsar sites reflects a formal, high-level recognition of wetland conservation. However, international designations must not be mistaken for local conservation success.