Massive shrinkage of J&K’s water bodies since 1967. CAG audit flags loss of 315 ‘lakes’

Ziraat Times Team Report

Srinagar, April 7: Jammu & Kashmir has lost nearly half of its recorded natural lakes over the past five decades, with 315 water bodies disappearing and 203 shrinking in size since 1967, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

The findings, part of the CAG’s audit report on “Conservation and management of lakes in Jammu and Kashmir” for the period ending March 2022, paint a concerning picture of ecological decline across J&K.

Sharp decline in lake area

The audit analysis, based on data from the Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing Department (EE&RSD), reveals that a total of 2,851.26 hectares of lake area has been lost since 1967.

This includes:

• 1,537.07 hectares lost due to the complete disappearance of 315 lakes

• 1,314.19 hectares reduced across 203 lakes that have shrunk in size

Overall, 518 out of 697 recorded lakes have either vanished or degraded—highlighting a large-scale transformation of J&K’s aquatic ecosystems.

Jammu Division most  affected

The data shows a stark regional imbalance:

• Of the 315 disappeared lakes, 259 were in Jammu division, which originally had 367 lakes in 1967

• Kashmir division, which had 330 lakes, accounted for 56 lost water bodies

The report notes that this decline has led to significant losses in biodiversity, including flora and fauna, as well as the ecosystem services these water bodies once provided.

Experts urge caution over ‘lake’ classification

However, environmental experts and hydrologists are expressing caution over the classification used in the report, questioning whether all the counted water bodies qualify as “lakes” in the strict scientific sense.

Specialists in Hydrology point out that historical records, especially those dating back to the 1960s, often grouped together a wide range of water bodies, including:

• Seasonal wetlands

• Marshes and swamps

• Floodplain depressions

• High-altitude glacial ponds

Many of these are naturally dynamic systems, prone to seasonal drying, sedimentation, or shifts in river courses. As such, their “disappearance” over decades may not always indicate ecological degradation but rather natural geomorphological evolution.

“There is a real risk of overstating permanent loss if ephemeral or seasonal water bodies are treated as stable lakes,” said experts familiar with long-term land-use and satellite data interpretation.

Experts argue that modern tools such as satellite imagery and GIS mapping—used today in Remote Sensing—can provide far more accurate classifications than legacy datasets.

They recommend:

• Reclassification of water bodies based on hydrological permanence

• Ground-truthing of historical records

• Differentiation between perennial lakes and seasonal wetlands

Such steps, they say, are essential to avoid misinterpretation and to design targeted conservation strategies.

Despite classification concerns, experts agree that substantial ecological stress is undeniable, driven by urban encroachment, pollution and siltation, climate variability and changes in land use

Even when accounting for definitional ambiguities, the scale of change suggests that many genuine lakes and wetlands have degraded, with long-term implications for water security, biodiversity, and local livelihoods.

Experts believe that while the CAG report highlights a worrying decline in J&K’s water bodies, experts caution that the headline figure of “disappearing lakes” may partly reflect classification issues, underscoring the need for more precise scientific mapping alongside urgent conservation action.