Policy Update
Pritha Chowdhury
Background
Wetlands and lakes are important aquatic ecosystems that support biodiversity, regulate water flows, recharge groundwater, store carbon, and provide livelihoods to local communities. However, increasing urbanisation, untreated sewage, industrial effluents, encroachment, solid-waste dumping, excessive nutrient loading and changes in land use have placed considerable pressure on India’s wetlands. According to the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment, India had approximately 2 lakh wetlands and water bodies larger than 2.25 hectares, covering around 10 million hectares (PIB, 2022).
Before 2013, wetland and lake conservation was addressed through two separate Centrally Sponsored Schemes-the National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP) and the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP). The Government merged these programmes in February 2013 to create the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA). The merger was intended to reduce overlap and create an integrated approach towards the conservation of lakes and wetlands. At the time of its creation, the NPCA was proposed with an estimated outlay of ₹900 crore during the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17), with a 70:30 Centre-State funding pattern, and 90:10 for the North-Eastern States (PIB- NPCA Merger, 2013).
The broad objective of NPCA is the holistic conservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, particularly lakes and wetlands, through improvement of water quality, biodiversity and ecological functions. The scheme also seeks to reduce pollution loads and improve the ecosystem services provided by aquatic ecosystems to surrounding communities.
Functioning of NPCA
NPCA operates as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in which the Central Government provides financial assistance to States and Union Territories for approved conservation activities. Under the current funding arrangement, the Central Government generally provides 60% of the cost and the State Government contributes 40%. For North-Eastern and Himalayan States, the Central share is 90%, while Union Territories receive 100% Central funding under the current guidelines (MoEFCC, 2024).
The programme was structured around a four- pronged approach:
1. Developing baseline information- Wetland Brief Document
2. Rapid assessment of wetlands condition- Wetland Health Card
3. Stakeholder platforms to enable collaborative and participatory management- Wetlands Mitras
4. Management planning addressing wetlands’ biodiversity and ecosystem services, values and threats- Wetland Integrated Management Plan
Source: Wetlands of India Portal
An important component is the preparation of Integrated Management Plans (IMPs). These plans identify the ecological condition and major threats faced by individual wetlands and establish activities for their conservation and management.
The revised NPCA Guidelines 2024 further strengthened this planning approach by introducing a Framework Management Plan (FMP). The FMP is intended to help States and Union Territories identify management priorities and undertake initial “no-regret” actions before developing more detailed management interventions. NPCA also operates alongside the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, which provide the regulatory framework for wetland conservation. The rules prohibit activities such as encroachment, dumping of solid waste, discharge of untreated waste and effluents, and certain permanent constructions in notified wetlands (PIB- NPCA and wetland rules, 2023).
Performance
By August 2018, NPCA covered 148 identified wetlands and lakes across 24 States and 1 Union Territory, with the Central Government having released ₹893.69 crore for conservation activities. By 2022, coverage had increased to 164 wetlands, while cumulative Central funding had increased to ₹1,066.43 crore. By 2023, conservation proposals for 165 wetlands, including 42 Ramsar Sites, had been sanctioned, and cumulative Central releases had reached approximately ₹1,088.85 crore (PIB- India’s Green Transformation, 2026). These figures demonstrate the expansion of NPCA in terms of geographical coverage and financial support. However, they are primarily performance indicators, because they measure programme reach and government expenditure rather than ecological improvement .
A second dimension of NPCA’s performance is the implementation of actual conservation activities and the development of management mechanisms. The scheme supports interventions such as wastewater interception and treatment, shoreline protection, de-silting, de-weeding, storm-water management, bioremediation, catchment-area treatment, bio-fencing, biodiversity conservation and community participation.
Table 1: Financial releases under NPCA
| Year | Financial releases under NPCA (in crore) |
| 2020-21 | ₹34.36 |
| 2021-22 | ₹42.66 |
| 2022-23 | ₹19.74 |
| 2023-24 | ₹6.95 |
Source: PIB, 2023
The funds released across these four years approximately amounts to ₹103.71 crore. The variation in annual releases indicates that implementation has not been uniform across years and that the flow of funds depends on approved proposals and implementation requirements.
Impact
First, NPCA has helped move wetland conservation towards a more integrated ecosystem-based approach. Instead of treating lakes simply as water bodies requiring cleaning, the programme considers wastewater treatment, catchment management, biodiversity, shoreline protection, community participation and ecological monitoring together.
Second, the scheme has supported efforts to address water pollution. Activities such as interception and diversion of sewage, wastewater treatment, bioremediation and storm-water management directly target some of the major causes of deterioration in urban and peri-urban wetlands.
Third, NPCA has contributed to strengthening the institutional architecture for wetland management. The establishment of State and Union Territory Wetland Authorities under the 2017 Rules, combined with Integrated Management Plans, Ecosystem Health Cards, Wetland Mitras and the Wetlands of India Portal, has created a more structured system for identifying and responding to wetland threats.
There are also indirect biodiversity benefits. By 2024, India had 85 Ramsar Sites, covering around 1.358 million hectares. However, it is important not to interpret the entire increase in Ramsar sites as an impact caused solely by NPCA. Ramsar designation involves a wider national and international conservation framework. Therefore, the increase should be considered evidence of the broader expansion of wetland conservation rather than a direct NPCA outcome.
Emerging Issues
The National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA) continues to face several emerging challenges that can limit the long-term effectiveness of wetland conservation. According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), December 2023, developmental activities and anthropogenic pressures continue to affect wetlands, particularly through encroachment, solid-waste dumping and the discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluents. Although the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 prohibit such activities, effective enforcement remains dependent on State Governments, Union Territories and local bodies.
Another major concern is climate change. The NPCA Guidelines 2024 note that changes in precipitation, sea-level rise, glacier-related changes and alterations in water balance and salinity can adversely affect coastal, high-altitude and other wetland ecosystems. The guidelines therefore emphasise management based on the wider drainage basin rather than treating individual wetlands in isolation.
In addition, variations in project implementation and fund utilisation across wetlands indicate the need for stronger institutional capacity and monitoring. The revised NPCA framework has consequently placed greater emphasis on Integrated Management Plans, Framework Management Plans, ecological monitoring, institutional coordination and community participation. Addressing these issues will be essential for ensuring that NPCA moves beyond funding conservation activities towards sustained improvements in the ecological health and resilience of India’s aquatic ecosystems.
Way Forward
First, NPCA should strengthen outcome-based monitoring. Each supported wetland could have measurable indicators such as dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, nutrient levels, water spread, biodiversity indicators, invasive-species coverage and groundwater-related indicators. This would allow policymakers to determine whether conservation expenditure is actually improving ecological health.
Second, Integrated Management Plans should become genuinely site-specific. The same intervention cannot be applied to an urban lake, a floodplain wetland and a high-altitude wetland. The revised NPCA Guidelines 2024 provide an opportunity to make management planning more responsive to the ecological characteristics and threats of individual wetlands.
Third, local communities should play a greater role in monitoring and management. Initiatives such as Wetland Mitras and Mission Sahbhagita can be strengthened by giving local communities clearly defined roles in biodiversity monitoring, preventing dumping, reporting encroachment and supporting sustainable livelihood activities.
Finally, the programme should give greater attention to climate resilience. Wetland restoration should incorporate flood buffering, drought management, groundwater recharge, protection of natural drainage channels and conservation of surrounding catchments.
References
- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. (2024, February 5). National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA). Wetlands of India Portal. https://indianwetlands.in/our-work/national-plan-for-conservation-of-aquatic-ecosystems/?
- Press Information Bureau. (2013, February 7). Merger of National Lake Conservation Plan and National Wetlands Conservation Programme into a new scheme. Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=92071
- Press Information Bureau. (2022, March 16). Mission Sahbhagita to enable a society ownership approach for participatory conservation and wise use of wetlands. Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1907683&utm_source=chatgpt.com®=48&lang=2
- Press Information Bureau. (2023, July 20). Analysis of water quality of rivers by Central Pollution Control Board. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1941065&lang=2®=48
- Press Information Bureau. (2023, December 11). National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA) being implemented for conservation and management of wetlands in the country on cost sharing basis between Central and respective State/UT Governments. Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1985075®=48&lang=2
- Press Information Bureau. (2024, August 5). National Lake Conservation Plan. Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2041458&utm_source=chatgpt.com®=48&lang=2
- Press Information Bureau. (2026, June 4). India’s Green Transformation: Twelve Years of Vishwaas, Nirman, and Jan Kalyaan. Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2268795&lang=1®=3
- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. (2022, August 8). Wetlands in India. Press Information Bureau, Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1849868&lang=2®=48
About the Contributor
Pritha Chowdhury is a postgraduate in Economics from Jadavpur University. Her academic interests include public policy, economic development, innovation policy, and data-driven policy analysis.
Reviewers:
Sandra Menon, Prisha Sanchdeva
Acknowledgment
The author extends sincere thanks to the IMPRI team for their guidance and support in developing this Policy Update.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this policy update are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of IMPRI or any affiliated institution. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information and data presented, readers are encouraged to verify facts independently before relying on them for any decision-making purpose.
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