Kashmir’s Vanishing Lakes
A recent audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India found that 74% of Jammu and Kashmir's lakes have either vanished or shrunk due to encroachment, siltation, and pollution. The report revealed that 315 lakes have completely disappeared, and 203 have seen their water area shrink.
Jammu and Kashmir has lost nearly three-quarters of its lakes due to years of bureaucratic neglect. A Comptroller and Auditor General of India audit found that 518 out of 697 lakes have either vanished or shrunk. The lakes have been lost to encroachment, siltation, and pollution. The audit revealed that 315 lakes have completely disappeared, covering 1,537 acres, while 203 lakes have seen their water area shrink by 1,314 hectares. Conservation plans exist for only six lakes, and the government spent only 1% of its capital expenditure on lake conservation between 2017 and 2022. The lack of coordination among government agencies has contributed to the decline of the lakes. Multiple departments hold overlapping mandates, but no unified framework binds them together, leading to a lack of accountability.
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