44 J&K lakes confront anthropogenic pressures affecting 2086.67 hectares

Jammu, Apr 7: 44 lakes in J&K suffered anthropogenic pressures leading to a decrease of 2,062.87 hectares in open water, out of the affected area of 2,086.67 hectares, within a short-span of six years, i.e., 2014-2020.

Anthropogenic pressures pertain to pollution or environmental changes caused by human activities.

The audit report on “Conservation and Management of Lakes in J&K” of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the period ended March 2022, observed land use or classification use changes during 2014-20 in 44 lakes against 63 sampled lakes.

The affected area, as per the audit, was 2,086.67 hectares which included decrease of 2,062.87 hectares in open water (28 per cent) due to anthropogenic pressures, such as increase in other land use changes viz., 131.11 hectares under built up (116 percent), 34.33 hectares under pasture (67 percent), 726.39 hectares under agriculture or horticulture or plantation (21 percent), 115.64 hectares under scrub or vegetation (6 percent) etc., within a short span of six years.

The audit noted with concern that the concerned four administrative departments and Forest department did not have lake generic management programmes and as such they failed to check growing anthropogenic pressures around lakes, resulting in loss or decrease in open water area and increase in aquatic vegetation. This adversely affected the ecosystem of the lakes.

Pointing towards the contemptible administrative apathy, it was stated that the failure to formulate conservation and management programmes and to undertake lake generic management activities by the district administrations concerned and the Forest department in respect of 44 lakes resulted in anthropogenic pressures.

“These anthropogenic pressures led to land use changes in these lakes. Neither the district administrations concerned nor the Forest Department took any measures to check the land use changes

It was recommended that the government of J&K should analyse in detail the reasons for the change in land use of these lakes, with expert assistance as required, for taking suitable rectification measures.

The audit mentioned that in 21 lakes, there was no open water area and these lakes had an overall change in land use of 338.02 hectares. There was a decrease of 338.02 hectares (14 percent) in aquatic vegetation due to increase in built-up (2,940 percent), agriculture or horticulture or plantation or crop land use (18 per cent), silted area (10 percent), etc.

In respect of 20 lakes, the audit found that there was overall change in land use of 2,117.29 hectares with substantial decrease of 2,088.24 hectares (29 percent) in open water area.

This was due to increase in other land use such as aquatic vegetation by 1,335.51 hectares (18 per cent), agriculture or horticulture or plantation or crop land by 528.22 hectares (41 per cent), scrub or vegetation by 115.64 hectares (six per cent) etc.

Notably, the audit quoting analysis of the data of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing Department (EE&RSD), in the report has mentioned that out of J&K’s 697 natural lakes, having great ecological and socio-economic significance in the two divisions, comprising 20 districts, 315 lakes have disappeared since 1967 and 203 lakes have suffered decrease in area.

This has indicated a decrease of 2,851.26 hectares in the total area of lakes in J&K since 1967.

As per the audit, there was a disappearance of 315 lakes having an area of 1,537.07 hectares and decrease in area of 1,314.19 hectares in respect of 203 lakes.

Thus, there was a total decrease and disappearance of area of 2,851.26 hectares (1,537.07 hectares plus 1,314.19 hectares) in 518 lakes (315 disappeared lakes plus 203 decreased lakes), as per the audit analysis quoted by the report. Out of 315 disappeared lakes, 259 were in Jammu division (which had 367 lakes in 1967) and 56 in Kashmir division (which had 330 lakes in the base year, i.e., 1967).

As a result, there was a loss in flora and fauna and other goods and services provided by these lakes.

In the case of 203 lakes, which suffered a decrease in area, 59 were in the Jammu division and 144 in the Kashmir division.

The positive aspect was that the area of 150 lakes (existing) increased by 538.22 hectares, while there were no changes in the areas of 29 lakes.