Managing migratory birds, boating and trekking part of WWF’s Sukhna plan

Apart from this, the WWF rulebook will focus on desiltation and water availability in case of poor rainfall, with a detailed roadmap to be submitted on December 14

A plan is being chalked out by the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) for Sukhna Lake, which includes management of migratory birds, fishing and maintenance of the lake and control of boating, trekking and tourist activities, it has been learnt.

Ruddy Shelduck birds at the Sukhna Lake. A plan to manage Sukhna Lake, including monitoring migratory birds, is being drawn up by World Wide Fund For Nature. (HT photo)

Apart from this, the WWF rulebook will focus on desiltation and water availability in case of poor rainfall, with a detailed roadmap to be submitted on December 14, sources have said.

The man made lake , which has a 26 square kilometre wildlife sanctuary towards the north, often dries up during the summer. Desiltation and pumping of additional water from other sources too have not yielded results.

The lake, created by Le Corbusier in 1958, had lost about 66% of its original water holding capacity due to silting. Following this, check dams were built in the catchment area, but even then the water levels have been going down, leaving the lake with a capacity of around 500 hectare-metres against the original capacity of over 1,074 hectare metres.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court is also monitoring the protection of the lake, initiating a suo motu petition in 2009 to save the water body.

Declared a wetland

The UT administration in June last year issued a final notification for declaration of 493 acres of the lake as a wetland under Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rule 2017.

All activities threatening the lake are prohibited. Encroachment of any kind, setting up of any industry and expansion of existing industries are prohibited, as is conversion of wetland to non-wetland uses. Solid waste dumping, discharge of untreated waste and effluents from industries, cities, towns, villages, and other human settlements into wetlands are also banned. Any construction of a permanent nature except for boat jetties within 50 metres from the mean high-flood level observed in the past ten years is not allowed.

The UT had sought help from WWF in November last year to draw up the management plan. It is also a knowledge partner for declaring Sukhna Lake a wetland, and will not charge anything for this exercise.