Evidence‐Based Holistic Restoration of Lake Anasagar, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India Deep Narayan Pandey1*, Brij Gopal2, K. C. Sharma3 1 Member Secretary, Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, Jaipur – 302015; Email:
[email protected] 2 Ex-Professor, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi, currently at Centre for Inland Waters in South Asia, National Institute of Ecology, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302017; Email:
[email protected] 3 Professor and Head, Department of Environmental Science Central University of Rajasthan, NH-8 Bandarsidri, Kishangarh – 305801 Ajmer, Rajasthan, Email:
[email protected] Views expressed in this paper are those of the authors; they do not necessarily represent the views of RSPCB or the institutions to which authors belong. Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board 4-Jhalana Institutional Area Jaipur 302 004, Rajasthan, India www.rpcb.nic.in 1 CONTENTS 1. Introduction 3 2. Present status of Lake Anasagar 3 3. Multiple stressors degrading the Lake Anasagar 4 3.1. Disposal of raw sewage and municipal wastewater 5 3.2. Discharge of detergents 6 3.3. Discharge of residual pesticides and fertilizers 7 3.4. Sedimentation due to soil erosion 7 3.5. Challenges of land ownership and encroachment 8 4. Holistic restoration of Lake Anasagar 8 4.1. Waste and sewage management 9 4.2. Forest restoration in the watershed 11 4.3. Sequential restoration of vegetation in sand dunes 12 4.4. Management of urban green infrastructure 13 4.5. Periodic sediment removal from lake 14 4.6. Macrophyte restoration in littoral zone of lake 15 4.7. Recovery of costs and reinvestment in urban systems 16 4.8.