Conservation and Management of Bhoj Wetland (Upper Lake ) of Bhopal, India, With Reference To Integrated Lake Basin Management

Vipin Vyas, Shriparna Saxena and Pradeep Shrivastava

Department of Limnology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal 462 026 (India) Email: secvip@yahoo.co.in

Abstract:
The Upper lake of Bhopal, a part of Bhoj Wetland, is a thousand years old multiple use waterbody supports various activities and hence has a multiple stakeholder community including common people, governmental and non-governmental agencies. The lake has been facing serious problems mainly of sewage inflow and siltation of man-made nature and profuse growth of macrophytes as ecological process. The lake having an area of 32 sq km receives water from a vast catchment of approx. 370 sq km with urban and rural parts. Most of the catchment is of rural in nature and has great impact on lake ecology whereas the urban catchment is mainly responsible for entry of untreated sewage. A massive restoration plan has been completed on the lake with the assistance of JBIC. Desilting and deweeding, diversion and treatment of sewage, catchment area treatment and afforestation were the main components of the project but the results are still not satisfactory. There is a growing concern among the residents of Bhopal regarding the sustainability of the restoration plan of the lake. In the opinion of the authors Integrated Lake Basin Management is the only solution and this approach should be adopted in case of Bhoj Wetland also. The present paper emphasizes on ILBM approach in relation to conservation and Management of Bhoj Wetland (Upper Lake) and suggests some possible options for the conservation community. Key Words: Bhoj Wetland, ILBM, Sustainability, Conservation

1. Introduction
Water-bodies have been the witnesses of development of human civilizations. Many known civilizations of the world sprouted in river valleys. Aquatic resources in recent years have received a great deal of attention in our country, an important source capable of sustaining valuable natural flora and fauna. The main stream of research in our country is focused on the management and conservation aspects. Scientists working in universities and research institution studied various aspects of wetland ecosystems which served as baseline data to identify problems associated to wetlands to chalk out a sound management plan. Long considered as unproductive and reluctant area wetlands were drained, filled and dried for finding solutions of food and shelter for ever increasing human population.

2. Description of the Study Area:

The Upper lake or Bada Talab is in the heart of Bhopal and is the lifeline of this capital city of Madhya Pradesh. It was created by constructing an earthen dam (which separates the Upper lake from Lower lake) on seasonal river Kolans by Raja Bhoj of Dhar in the 11th Century A.D. (1010-1055 A.D.) It is the most magnificent of all the lakes and reservoirs in this region and has been alone source of drinking water supply to the 20 lac population of the capital until the recent past. The water is drawn from various parts of the lake and is being treated in 5 water works units controlled by independent authorities. The lake is dammed at two places (i) in eastern part near Kamla Park and (ii) in the southern part at Bhabhada weir, where there are eleven sluice gates to let out the excess water from the lake into a channel, which later on connects into a small river known as Kaliasot.

The south-eastern side of the lake is bounded by Shamla Hills, Van Vihar and the north-eastern side by Medical College, Koh-e-Fiza and Ahmedabad hills. A suburban township called Bairagarh is located at the western side of the lake. Besides this a large number of houses and huts of the slum dwellers were located on the north and Bairagarh, Khanugaon and Hamidia Hospital. The lake has been designated as Ramsar site. Morphometry of Upper lake : The upper lake is an east-westerly elongated manmade shallow lake with irregular margins and luxuriant growth of aquatic vegetation. The lake area is bounded between the latitudes 2001023020 and longitudes 77 015-77025 as shown in the Survey of India toposheet No. 55 E/7 and 55 E/8. The lake is situated at an altitude of 532 metres above the mean sea level. Some of the important morphometric features of the lake are as follows : Table 1: Morphometry of Upper Lake Feature
Catchment area Submerged area Maximum length Maximum width Maximum area Minimum area Maximum shoreline Maximum depth Mean depth Maximum water level MSL Dead storage level MSL River bed level MSLA Volume

3. Ecological Aspects of the Upper Lake:

The lake supprts a rich biodiversity with incres its ecological significance as a wetland. Following are some important ecologic features of the lake: Phytoplankton: 208 species Zooplankton: 115 species Fish fauna : 43 species Avifauna: 179 species Insects: 98 species Reptiles and Amphibians: 10 species

4. Uses of Upper Lake

Upper lake is a multiple use waterbody and being used for various purposes: Drinking Water Supply: About 35% of the city population is still dependent on Upper lake for drinking water supply governed by Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC). In addition to this Military township and Railways are using the water for drinking and other purposes Fishery Resources: The lake supports a rich fish resource. 35 species of fishes have been reported from the Upper Lake. About 200 fishermen families are dependent on fish resources of the lake and the catch of the lake is major source of fish to the local resident. The Bhojpal Fishermen Cooperative Society, a cooperative society of the local fishermen is the leasee of the lake issued every year by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation. Trapa Cultivation: The fishermen community has been traditionally growing Trapa (Water Chestnut) in the lake. About 100 ha of the lake area chiefly near Khanugaon is under trapa cultivation.

Unit
362 sq km 30.72 12.50 km 5 km 32 sq km 12 sq km 40.590 km 8.8 m 3.17 m 508.65 m 503.65 M 499.39 M 101540400m3

Tourism and Recreation: The lake has been a tourist hotspot for the local residents. Motorised, rowing and pedal boats have been introduced by the State Tourism Development Corporation and private boat owners in the lake with the permission of Bhopal Municipal Corporation. Several Food Joints have also come-up on the banks of the lake.

Wildlife Habitat: About 45 ha of the lake area on the southern bank of the lake falls in the Van Vihar National Park, a wildlife conservation park notified under Wildlife Protection Act 1972 . A large number of waterbird inhabit the lake belonging to 42 species and about 25 of them are migratory in nature. Research and Education: The lake has been a subject of research and education for educational institutions and NGOs engage in environmental education in the city. Department of Limnology of Barkatullah University, Bhopal is the key institution engaged in the limnological studie of the lake for the past 30 years.

(Japan) provided Rs. 247 crores for various activities uder the project including desilting and deweeding, afforestation, Cathment area treatment, Sewage diversion and treatment, Solid waste disposal and Awareness generation etc.

7. Basin Scenario of the Lake :

The lake has a catchment area of 370 sq. km spreading in two administrative districts, Bhopal and Sehore. The catchment area can be easily categorized in rural (70%) and urban (30%) catchment with different landuses and impacts. Land use/cover

5. Multiple Stakeholders of the Lake

As stated earlier the lake is a multiple use waterbody hence it has a multiple stakeholder community. 1. Govt. Agencies. BMC, Distt administration, railways, PHE, Tourism, Wildlife, Housing and Environment. 2. Civil Society: NGOs 3. General Community. 4. Educational and Research Institutions 5. Fishermen and trapa cultivators

Information on land use/ cover pattern, especially the extent and spatial distribution is a prerequisite to understand the catchment characteristics. The land use/cover information help in formulation of policies and programmers for wetland management. The details related to land use/cover pattern in the study area are summarised below: Table 2 : Land use/ land cover types and area statistics. Sr. Landuse types Area (ha) 1998 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Built up land Agriculture land Fallow land Open scrub (with or with out scrub) Plantation Barren rocky Open forest Water bodies / River Marsh Aquatic vegetation sparse Aquatic vegetation dense Other vegetations TOTAL 2751 10760 1249 5171 120 273 503 2435 522 238 357 574 36181

6. Problems associated with lake and conservation efforts done so far

The lake has been facing the following problems Reduction of Storage Capacity and Water spread Area due to siltation. Inflow of Sewage and waste water from the Catchment area. Encroachment in Catchment Area Agricultural Activities based on chemical fertilizers & pesticides. Excessive growth of Aquatic Plants. Immersion of Idols and Tajias during festivals. Threat to Aquatic Life (Bio-diversity).

The state government initiated a massive conservation and management plan with the Japanese assistance. JBIC

Built-up land: The physical extent of the total built-up land is about 2751 ha. around Bhoj wetland in 1998. Most of the built-up area is part of Bhopal city as this wetland lies in the heart of Bhopal city. There is an increase of 707 ha. in the built up area from 1988 to 1998 and it is mainly in the southern part of the lake. Agricultural land:

Open forest and plantation: The area under forest (Open) 503 ha and it has not changed. Plantation accounts 76 ha in 1988 and 120 ha in 1998. There is an increase of an area of 44 ha. This is mainly due to a forestation in the waste land areas and agro forestry. However, they are very much scattered and are in small extents. Wasteland: The area under the barren rocky and open scrub is included in this category. it is about 5444 ha. in 1998 while in 1988 6037 ha. These waste lands are mainly located on the undulating areas and around stony wastes. Urban Catchment area: The Urban portion of the catchment constitutes about 18% area of the Bhopal city inhabited by 20% population of the city spread over in 23 wards out of 66 municipal wards of the city. Problems associated with urban catchment area: As stated earlier the urban area due to its landuse pattern has higher population density having following main problems associated with urban area. Sewage Generation and Disposal: Since the urban catchment area harbours 20% of the city population it produces 20% of the sewage of the cit as well. Earlier theis area mainly comprising of old city had no sewarege system and dry toilets were prevalent in the area. Later, some of the dry toilets have been converted into flush

Agriculture is the predominant land use in the catchment and it is around 24338 ha. in 1988 and 21009 ha. in 1998 which includes both standing crop and fallow land. The land use/cover map of 1988 is prepared using two seasons (pre and post monsoon) satellite data, whereas the 1998 map is prepared using single date. The area under standing crop is 10760 ha. The agricultural land has been further categorized into crop land and fallow. The area under fallow land is about 12484 ha. during 1998. The area under this category is highly fluctuating and it is mainly attributed to scanty rain fall in the catchment and undulating terrain. Land use/cover map on 1:50 000 scale was prepared for the catchment. These maps provide information on forests, shrubs and other land use such as agricultural land, wastelands etc. The area statistics of land use/ cover is given in Table given below.

toilets connected to individual septic tanks. The outflows of the tanks were either left into the saokpits or again connected to open drains which ultimately join the lakes. Some measures were taken to The old Bhopal area has a sewer network of 23.5 km length laid under the Prevention of Pollution of Upper Lake scheme with diameters varying from 150mm to 1200mm. This system is almost 30 years old and currently not functioning properly. This network has sewage pump houses at Khanugoan, Ahemdabad, Fateghar, Bhoipura and Ginnori. The out fall of this network is in the Patra Nala and a sewage treatment plant at Maholi Dhamkheda constructed under the Bhoj Wetland Project. Renovation of these old Sewage Pumping Stations have also been done under the Bhoj Wetland Project. No records of the complete sewer network in the Old City area are currently available. The Bairagarh area has a sewer network of 16.22 km length laid by PHE department, the diameters varying from 150mm to 900mm, with sewage pump houses at Sehore Naka and Laukheri and an Oxidation pond at Gandhi Nagar. This sewer network has been upgraded and connected to the newly laid sewer system under the Bhoj Wetland Project. The Bhoj Wet Land Project was conceived to prevent pollution of Upper and lower Lakes caused by sewage flows through the drains in the catchments areas of these lakes. A large part of city area comprising 23 municipal wards (ward no. 1to7, 23, 25to30, 34, 37&38) and aprox.20% population with aprox.18 % area of total city is covered under the project. It is learnt that the sewerage system commissioned under Bhoj Wetland project has been designed only to cater to dry weather flows. As the pumping stations do not have capacity to handle flows during the monsoon period, these are discharged into Upper Lake, which causes pollution of the Upper Lake. Independent sewer networks in three areas of Gandhi Nagar, Maholi and Kotra have been completed under the project, each of the area has sewage pumping stations, collection system and sewage treatment plant (STP). Approx.62 Km of gravity sewers, 23.54 Km of force main, 8 SPSs and 4 Sewage Treatment Plants had been constructed under the Bhoj wet land Project. Renovation of some old Sewage Pumping Stations was also carried out under the Bhoj Wetland Project. Areas Served by Septic Tanks Septic Tanks are the most common system for sewage disposal in the city. In the Areas not served by the gravity sewer network, large section of population

discharge wastewater into septic tanks, soak pits or open drains The development of city in a piecemeal manner in the form of colonies of various agencies and cooperative societies have prompted these individual entities to have their own sewer systems in the form of septic tanks and soak pits either in isolation or individual capacity or in collective groups. If it is in collective groups, such as housing societies, colonies, institutional or commercial establishments, they have formed an internal sewage system with septic tank at the end. Overflow from septic tank flows either to an adjoining city sewer or to open drains or nallahs where no city sewers are available. Rural Catchment area The rural catchment area is harboring 86 villages having 14000 households. Agriculture is the main activity in the area and 70% of the land in the catchment is under cultivation. Animal husbandry is the second main activity of the catchment. Problems associated with rural areas: Agriculture and its Impacts Wheat, gram and soybean are the main crops in the area.Vegetables are also cultivated by some farmers. Before the onset of Green revolution probably before 1970 the agriculture practices in the catchment was mainly organically based. But demand to grow more food grain per unit area led to use of hybrid seed and agro-chemicals in the agriculture practices. Adjoining the urban area and capital city Bhopal, the farmers have direct and easy availability of agro-chemicals and hybrid seeds. These agro-chemicals are normally used without a scientific and judicious approach and finally find way into the lake. As a part of lake conservation measures the Lake Conservation Authority of MP has started an experimental activity promoting organic farming by coordinating organic farm management techniques . Since the experiment was limited to use of organic compost and did not address any other aspect like sustained supply of organic manure, certification of organic products and incentives to compensate the initial losses. Soil Erosion and Siltation: Repeated tillage in the agriculture field and unvegetated wasteland are prone to erosion of top soil during rainy season and this silt is diverted to the lake by the inlet channels and rivulets. Kolans and Uljhavan, two main rivulets drain the entire rural catchment into the lake.

Afforestation and construction of civil structures was undertaken by the Bhoj wetland project in the rural catchment area on mass scale. To control inflow of silt from the catchment area and thereby reduce silt accumulation and pollution in the lakes 75 silt traps and 2 check dams were constructed across 31 inlet channels in the rural catchment. A massive afforestation programme was undertaken by Bhoj Wetland project and 1.7 million plants were planted in about 1000 ha area creating a three-tier buffer in the lake periphery. This includes roadside and river embankment plantation.

C. Peoples Participation: Since there is a clear-cut demarcation of rural and urban catchment in the case of Upper lake of Bhopal, the former being the direct user of the lake and the later being considered to be the polluter, there is a possibilities of conflict between the two. This envisages the role of civil society in the conflict resolving and developing a linkage between the two. Although there are many civil society organizations are working in this area but most of them are limited to the conservation issue in urban area only. D. Technological Possibilities: In the present context of Upper lake there are two types of main problems which require technological interntions; one is sewage diversion and another is catchment area treatment. In addition there is a need to improve eco-friendly technologies for aquaculture and tourism so that a sustainable livelihood opportunities can prevail for the communities directly dependent on the lake. Sewage treatment require modern technologies for faster and complete treatment of sewage and its reuse in irrigation and other purposes. Organic farming and afforestation also require technical input for sustainability. E. Knowledge Sources: Availability of knowledge base is a prerequisite for anyound management paln for any waterbody. Fortunately, Department of Limnology was established in the Bhopal University in 1980 and research activities were started on lakes of Bhopal. A project sponsored by Man and Biosphere Committee of Ministry of Environment of Forests (Govt. of India) in 1984 was a major knowledge base for the decision makers to start lake conservation activities. Later, many such studies paved way to identify the problems of the lakes and its possible solutions which culminated into a massive conservation plan for Bhoj wetland. F. Sustainable Finance: It has been experienced in the cases where external funding was mobilized for lake conservation, no post project sustainability could be ensured due to lack of budgetary provisions. In case of Upper lake the JBIC support ended with some left over fund which is being used to generate interest to run the functioning of Lake Conservation Authority of MP. This can be a model approachut still need due attention of authorities. Since the lake has a multiple stakeholders from governmental level also, separate budgetary provision can be made for each department which can be spent in coordination of LCA-MP.

8. ILBM Principles in the Context of Upper Lake:

The basic concept of ILBM is based on six pillars approach. Following is the scenario of Upper Lake in this context. A. Institutions: There are several governmental agencies which are involved in utilization, management and conservation aspects of the Upper lake. Recently, Lake Conservation Authority of MP has been constituted by the Housing and Environment Department of Govt. of MP being the nodal agency for lake conservation activity. This agency can work as a coordinating agency for other related departments like, Bhopal Municipal Corporation, Bhopal Development Authority, District Administration, Town and Country Planning Department, Zila Panchayat, Agriculture Department, Irrigation Department, Capital Project Administration, Forest Department, Wildlife Department, Tourism Development Corporation, Ecotourism Board etc. B. Policies: The constitution of India categorically emphasizes on protection of our natural wealth including water through its various articles. Various acts and rules have also been enacted by the central and state govts. in this connection. Mainly the following legal instruments are in force to provide specific guidelines for lake conservation: 1. The Environmental (Protection ) Act : 1986 and rules formulated therein. 2. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Rules 1975 with ammendmends made in 1978 and 1988. 3. The Wildlife Protection Act : 1972 Recently, the Wetland Bill passed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (Govt. of India) also which is also a powerful instrument for wetland management.

9. Possible Options and Solutions: he process of adopting ILBM approach has already been started in Bhopal with special reference to Bhoj

Wetland. Recently, a brain storming session was organized by the Barkatullah University, Bhopal in association with ILEC, Japan, IAAB, Hyderabad and LCA-MP. This session was attended by a diverse group of stakeholders. The recommendations of the session can be considered as possible options and solutions: 1. For effective conservation, emphasis should shift from lake to basin for long term sustainability of lake ecosystem. ILBM is identified as an effective startagy for this purpose. Bhoj Sarovar Samvardhini will be established as the ILBM platform for future actions. It will be a common platform involving diverse stake holders and also will act as a thin tank to generate ideas for long term sustainability of lake ecosystems. Lake Pollution Index (LPI) based on select parameters will be developed for Bhoj wetland for effective identification of degradation and effective interventions. Eco-technologies and other ecological interventions should complement technology based conservation measures. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) need to be more rigorously undertaken before any developmental acitivtes in and around a lake. Prsent EIA procedure needs to be made more effective. Ways and means need to be explored to enhance interest of common man in the lakes and their management. An annual lake festival could be organized mainly to inform people on environmental status of the lake. University and professional collge students can take up projects on dofferent aspects of lake ecosystem and help in generating knowledge resources.

8.

A synergy needs to be established between basin and lake communities. This will require much more imagination and innovation.

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2.

P. Shrivastava, G.H. Joshi, Vipin Vyas and Abha Swarup, Observations on the Management of A Tropical Wetland Ecosystem, J. Hydrobil. Vol. X, No. 1. 15-28, 1994 V. Valecha, V. Vyas and R. Valecha, Rehabilitation of The Twin Lakes of Bhopal, In Ecology and Pollution of Indian Lakes and Reservoirs P K Misha Ed. Pp 93-97, 1995.

3.

4.

M. Sahadevan, V. Vyas and P. Shrivastava, Biodiversity of Aquatic Vegetetation in Upper Lake of Bhopal, In Conservation of Aquatic Resources. S. N. Dwivedi Ed. Pp 135-142, 2000

5.

Amit Chaurasia, Landuse/ Landcover Pattern in the Catchment Area of Upper Lake of Bhopal, M.Sc. Dissertation submitted to Barkatullah University, Bhopal (India), 2000

6.

M.S. Kodarkar, Bhoj Wetland of Bhopal, In Brain Storming Session on ILBM, Pp 60-62, 2009

7.

S.M. Mishra, Conservation and Management of Bhoj Wetland of Bhopal, India, In World Lake Vision Action Report (ILEC), Pp 168-180, 2007

R. K. Bisaria, Sewage Treatment System of Bhopal, M.Sc. Disseratation submitted to Sikkim Manipal University, India. 90 Pp, 2009