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Interactive Governance at Anasagar Lake Management in India: Analyzing Using Institutional Analysis Development Framework

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Interactive Approaches to Water Governance in Asia

Abstract

The governance of Anasagar toward its sustainability is driven by the physical, institutional, and community characteristics and their interrelations. They are crucial to document and understand the interactive water governance process in the urban lakes of India. Anasagar is located in the heart of pilgrim city of Ajmer city in Rajasthan India. The lake has been historically a rainwater harvesting reservoir; however, today not only rainwater but also wastewater is running into the lake. In the recent lake restoration process, the decided full tank water level of the lake has led to submergence of several developments at the lake shore. This has led to dissatisfaction among the local people since several of the submerged lands belong to them. Anasagar is an atypical lake in India whose lake area is divided into several land parcels and ownerships including both private and government. The water pollution continues in the lake since the inlet drainages carrying rainwater and wastewater from the surrounding hills and the urban development are awaiting treatments before flowing into the lake. Facing the dilemma of development and conservation of the lake by the physical, institutional, and community factors, the chapter discusses the complex problems and processes that influence the lake governance toward sustainable development.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Anasagar in Hindi is made of two words: Ana is a name of the ruler Anaji Chauhan during whose rule the lake was constructed by the people of Ajmer and Sagar means water body. From hereafter, the term either Anasagar or lake is used.

  2. 2.

    Dargah is a tomb of a Muslim intellectual who is considered “holy” by the Muslim community.

  3. 3.

    The concept of ILBM started in India as an international agreement of knowledge and technology exchange through the JICA projects on integrated water resource management piloting with the Bhoj Wetland Project and followed by a number of other wetland restorations.

  4. 4.

    Mela is a Hindi word that means fair. The Pushkar Mela is celebrated for 5 days in the month of October to November during the full-moon days. It is celebrated as the birth of Pushkar Lake by Hindu god Brahma; thus numerous people take a dip in its sacred waters. It is famous also as a livestock fair, especially the camels. As a popular event, millions of tourists across the world visit Pushkar at this time to experience the vivid culture of Rajasthan (http://www.pushkarmela.org/).

  5. 5.

    Path is a Hindi word referring to road or a path.

  6. 6.

    Ghat is a Hindi word referring to stepped embankment that is used by people for various physical interaction activities with the water like bathing, praying, washing, etc.

  7. 7.

    Bagh is an Urdu word of garden.

  8. 8.

    Chaupati is a Hindi name referring to a waterfront with various recreational activities especially food joints and games. It was first coined for the Mumbai seafront, and since then waterfronts in several cities across the country have used the name.

  9. 9.

    Nala is a Hindi word originally referring to a natural drainage course or narrow stream of water. The term is now used for open and dirty drains either natural or constructed.

  10. 10.

    Talaab is a Hindi word referring to small lake or pond.

  11. 11.

    The JnNURM was initiated in 2004 by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) with the Ministry of Urban Environment and Poverty Alleviation (MoUEPA). The scheme is amended to “AMRUT” since 2014.

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Acknowledgment

I thank the reviewers for the insights in refining the direction and presentation of the paper, the IDE-JETRO for the Research Grant (2016–17) for the project ‘Interactive Approaches to Water Governance: Case Studies in Asia, in particular thanks to Kenji Otsuka for leading the project, the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, RIHN, Kyoto for the Research Fellowship (2014–15) to carry out an action research on Anasagar. My sincere thanks extends to the local organizations and the people of Ajmer for being instrumental during the fieldwork and the Maharishi Dayanand Sarasvati University Ajmer for co-hosting the Workshop ‘Water and Wetland’ for knowledge exchange on Anasagar.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Design Consultants, Ahmedabad, India

    Mansee Bhargava

Authors
  1. Mansee Bhargava
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Correspondence to Mansee Bhargava .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO), Chiba, Japan

    Kenji Otsuka

Appendices

Appendices

1.1 Appendix 1: Summary of the Issues of Anasagar Published in Newspaper Article of October 2014

The title of the article is Development in the Lake or Lake in the Development. The other captions are (1) for the last 3 years, the developments are submerged in the lake water. The district administration is unable to take remedial decisions; (2) submerged development and emotional outburst; and (3) until when the building is going to remain submerged. Submerged developments in the lake since 2010 include the government buildings like the Vishram Sthali, the secondary treatment plant, and the constructed wetland besides several private residential and commercial buildings. Some of the highlighted issues in the article are the water level issue continues; the relocation is not easy; and the image of Ajmer is at risk.

figure a

Source: Ajmer Patrika, Oct 06, 2014

1.2 Appendix 2: Different Programs Objectives and Activities

Objectives

Activities

NLCP

1. In situ measures of lake cleaning such as de-silting, de-weeding, bioremediation, aeration, bio-manipulation, nutrient reduction through constructed wetland approach or other successfully tested eco-technologies, etc.

Physical

2. Catchment area treatment includes wastewater-rainwater treatment, afforestation, silt traps, check dams, etc.

3. Strengthening/protecting the embankment, lake fencing, etc.

4. Lake front/shoreline development including public interface

5. Prevention of pollution from nonpoint sources by providing low-cost sanitation

6. Public awareness and public participation

Social

7. Capacity building, training, and research in the area of lake conservation

8. Any other activity depending upon location-specific requirements – unclear

Challenge

Excluded but crucial: solid waste management and provision of Dhobi Ghats

↑Source: Adapted from MoEF (2008)

 

JnNURM

1. Attention to an integrated approach toward infrastructure development

Physical

2. Ensuring adequate funds to meet the deficiencies of urban infrastructural services

3. Focus on water supply and sanitation, solid waste management, road network, urban transport, and redevelopment of old city areas

4. Basic infrastructure services to the urban poor

3 and 4 are indirectly linked to the restoration of the urban lakes.

5. Establish linkages between asset creation and asset management through reforms for long-term project sustainability of infrastructure services

Social

↑Source: MoUD and MoUEPA (2007)

 

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Bhargava, M. (2019). Interactive Governance at Anasagar Lake Management in India: Analyzing Using Institutional Analysis Development Framework. In: Otsuka, K. (eds) Interactive Approaches to Water Governance in Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2399-7_9

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