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

Unit

Catchment area

362 sq km

Submerged area

30.72

Maximum length

12.50 km

Maximum width

5 km

Maximum area

32 sq km

Minimum area

12 sq km

Maximum shoreline

40.590 km

Maximum depth

8.8 m

Mean depth

3.17 m

Maximum water level MSL

508.65 m

Dead storage level MSL

503.65 M

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.

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

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

1998

5. Fishermen and trapa cultivators

6. Problems associated with lake and

conservation efforts done so far
The lake has been facing the following problems

Area (ha)

1.

Built up land

2751

2.

Agriculture land

10760

3.

Fallow land

1249

4.

Open scrub (with or with out scrub)

5171

Reduction of Storage Capacity and Water

spread Area due to siltation.

5.

Plantation

120

Inflow of Sewage and waste water from the

Catchment area.

6.

Barren rocky

273

Encroachment in Catchment Area

7.

Open forest

503

Agricultural Activities based on chemical

fertilizers & pesticides.

8.

Water bodies / River

2435

9.

Marsh

522

Excessive growth of Aquatic Plants.

Immersion of Idols and Tajias during festivals.

10.

Aquatic vegetation sparse

238

Threat to Aquatic Life (Bio-diversity).

11.

Aquatic vegetation dense

357

12.

Other vegetations

574

TOTAL

36181

The state government initiated a massive conservation

and management plan with the Japanese assistance. JBIC

Built-up land:

Open forest and plantation:

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.

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.

Agricultural land:

Wasteland:

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

2.

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.

8.

A synergy needs to be established between

basin and lake communities. This will require
much more imagination and innovation.

References:
P. Shrivastava and G.H. Joshi, Status Report of Upper
Lake of Bhopal, Submitted to EPCO, 1992

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.

Lake Pollution Index (LPI) based on select

parameters will be developed for Bhoj wetland
for effective identification of degradation and
effective interventions.

4.

Eco-technologies
and
other
ecological
interventions should complement technology
based conservation measures.

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.

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.

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.

7.

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.

M.S. Kodarkar, Bhoj Wetland of Bhopal, In Brain

Storming Session on ILBM, Pp 60-62, 2009

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