A comprehensive roadmap has been developed for the consideration of designating Udaipur as a wetland city and Menar as a Ramsar site. This roadmap offers in-depth insights into the 174 water bodies within the Udaipur district and the adjacent wetlands. Discussions were held during the meeting to deliberate on these proposals this past Friday. 

A workshop was conducted in the presence of key figures, including Ms. Monali Sen, IFS Member Secretary, State Wetland Authority Department of Environment and Climate Change for the Rajasthan government, District Collector of Udaipur,Arvind Kumar Poswal, Vasudev Malawat, the Commissioner of Udaipur Municipal Corporation, and Raj Kumar Jain, Chief Conservator of the Forest Department, Udaipur. It was unanimously agreed to promptly finalize this roadmap and submit it for government approval, enabling the acceleration of both these initiatives. This step is set to bring a fresh perspective to Udaipur and Lake Pichola (Menar) on the global stage.

During the workshop, in addition to the Principal Secretary of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Shikhar Agrawal, Mr. Sujit Kumar Wajpai, the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, also provided significant recommendations for the development of Udaipur city as a Ramsar Wetland City via video conferencing.

During the meeting, it was noted that as of the year 2020, there were only 17 designated Wetland Cities worldwide, and this number has now grown to 45. Remarkably, India currently does not have any Wetland City. Designating Udaipur as a Wetland City and a Ramsar site would not only enhance the city's global standing but also attract an increased number of tourists.