The department of forest and wildlife preservation has finalised a ₹30.44-crore conservation roadmap (2026–31) for the Harike wetland. This urgent revision follows a reprimand from the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, which flagged Punjab’s initial proposal for procedural, technical, and financial deficiencies.
A senior state wildlife official said the newly rectified integrated management plan (IMP) has been finalised and is being despatched to the ministry for immediate approval under the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA).
The scrutiny of the previous plan exposed administrative lapses, including the absence of formal approval from the state wetlands authority, missing financial commitment letters for Punjab’s funding share, and a lack of clear technical specifications. Instead of detailed, itemised budgets based on the official schedule of rates, the state had submitted vague, lump-sum figures. The mandatory “zone of influence” maps were missing, and the proposal failed to prove that at least 75% of the requested central funds would be spent directly on core ecological conservation activities.
Spread across nearly 86 sq km in Tarn Taran, Kapurthala and Ferozepur districts, Harike Wetland was formed in 1952 after the construction of the Harike Barrage at the confluence of the Beas and Sutlej rivers. Developed originally to provide irrigation and drinking water to southern Punjab and Rajasthan, the wetland has evolved into one of North India’s most crucial freshwater ecosystems, supporting over one lakh migratory birds during winter and several threatened species, including the Indus river dolphin, smooth-coated otter and gharial. Recognised as a Ramsar site in 1990, Harike today supports more than 390 bird species, including migratory waterfowl arriving from Central Asia and the trans-Himalayan region during winters. Annual bird census data cited in the report shows the wetland hosts between 90,000 and 1.25 lakh migratory birds annually.
{{/usCountry}}Spread across nearly 86 sq km in Tarn Taran, Kapurthala and Ferozepur districts, Harike Wetland was formed in 1952 after the construction of the Harike Barrage at the confluence of the Beas and Sutlej rivers. Developed originally to provide irrigation and drinking water to southern Punjab and Rajasthan, the wetland has evolved into one of North India’s most crucial freshwater ecosystems, supporting over one lakh migratory birds during winter and several threatened species, including the Indus river dolphin, smooth-coated otter and gharial. Recognised as a Ramsar site in 1990, Harike today supports more than 390 bird species, including migratory waterfowl arriving from Central Asia and the trans-Himalayan region during winters. Annual bird census data cited in the report shows the wetland hosts between 90,000 and 1.25 lakh migratory birds annually.
{{/usCountry}}Data forces overhaul
The newly revised management plan lays bare five decades of environmental neglect. Scientific assessments integrated into the fresh proposal show that Harike has lost over 83% of its original water-holding capacity due to heavy, unchecked siltation. The wetland’s actual open water spread plummeted from nearly 40% in 1995 to just over 21% in 2017. This shrinking footprint has been further aggravated by a 150% spike in illegal agricultural encroachments along the wetland fringes.
The ecosystem is also battling chemical and biological pollution. Untreated industrial effluents and urban sewage continuously pour into the feeder river systems via the Budha Nullah. This nutrient-heavy pollution triggered an ecological crisis, with invasive water hyacinth now blanketing nearly half of the wetland in critical stretches, suffocating local aquatic biodiversity.
Engineering interventions
As a solution to these compounding crises, the state’s revised blueprint shifts from generic goals to targeted engineering and biological interventions. The ₹30.44-crore plan formally proposes large-scale desiltation measures, the establishment of dedicated hydrological monitoring stations, and targeted wastewater treatment interventions to intercept pollutants before they reach the core lake.
The strategy is to ensure a biological recovery through systematic weed removal and specialised habitat restoration for threatened species. To ensure long-term sustainability, the roadmap integrates the local economy into the conservation framework. It outlines initiatives to upgrade local interpretation centres, build eco-tourism infrastructure, promote organic farming in peripheral villages, and deploy community-led wetland “mitras (friends)” to prevent further agricultural encroachments.
Harike under siege
Accumulation of silt has choked basin, wiping out 83% of the wetland’s original water-holding capacity since 1952.
Driven by siltation and agricultural encroachments (which rose by 150%), Harike’s open water spread fell from 40% in 1995 to a meagre 21% by 2017.
Budha Nullah channels heavy load of untreated industrial chemicals, sewage, and pesticide runoff directly into feeder rivers, degrading water quality.
Aggressive water hyacinth infestation currently mat nearly 50% of specific aquatic stretches, blocking sunlight, depleting dissolved oxygen, and threatening native fish and plant species.
The degradation directly jeopardises North India’s isolated population of the endangered Indus River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor), alongside smooth-coated otters and re-introduced gharials.