In a concerning trend, the sizes of Udaipur's famous Pichola and Fateh Sagar lakes have been reduced by 30% to benefit land developers. Now, plans are underway to shrink several other important lakes in Rajasthan, including the well-known Jaisamand and Badi lake. This is being done under the guise of lake development and conservation.

The Rajasthan government established the Rajasthan Lake Conservation and Development Authority in 2015 to protect the state's lakes. According to the rules, the boundaries of these lakes should be determined based on the maximum water level (MWL) over the past 50 years, which reflects the largest area the lake has covered. However, the Authority is now setting boundaries based on the Full Tank Level (FTL), a lower water level. This results in a smaller lake area.

By using FTL instead of MWL, a significant portion of the land that was once part of the lake is now being declared outside the lake’s boundaries. After independence, these lakes were managed by the Water Resources Department, which had marked the maximum water levels on signs around the lakes. These signs showed the true boundaries based on the MWL. But now, many of these signs have been removed, making it difficult for the public to know the real extent of the lakes. This benefits land developers who can now claim land that was once underwater.

For example, the water spread area of Lake Pichola has decreased from 6.96 square kilometers to just 4.5 square kilometers in official records. Similarly, Fateh Sagar Lake's area has been reduced from 4 square kilometers to 2.5 square kilometers. As a result, the lakes across the state could shrink by 20 to 40%. 

What was once protected lakebed will now be open for development, leading to a significant loss of water bodies and a major environmental impact.

Source: Rajasthan Patrika