India's wetland governance suffers from inter-ministerial fragmentation. With reference to Sambhar Lake and the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, evaluate the adequacy of the existing regulatory architecture.

Q. India's wetland governance suffers from inter-ministerial fragmentation. With reference to Sambhar Lake and the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, evaluate the adequacy of the existing regulatory architecture. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Sambhar Lake — India's largest inland saline wetland, a Ramsar Site since 1990 spanning about 24,000 hectares [1] — is protected on paper by three overlapping regimes, yet satellite analysis (1984–2023) shows its water spread contracting as adjacent industrial salt pans expand [5]. The architecture is sound in intent but institutionally fragmented in execution.

Strengths of the existing framework - The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, create State Wetland Authorities, mandate wetland inventories, and restrict solid-waste dumping and discharge of untreated industrial effluents [3]. - Ramsar designation imposes a treaty obligation of "wise use"; India's tally reached 89 sites by January 2026, giving conservation political salience [4]. - Sambhar's parallel status as a Wildlife Sanctuary under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 supplies an additional enforcement handle. - Remote sensing now provides an objective, multi-decadal evidence base for wetland monitoring [5].

Where fragmentation makes it inadequate - Split mandates: salt extraction is an industrial/commerce subject, while ecological integrity rests with MoEFCC and state forest departments. Sambhar Salt Limited, a Centre–Rajasthan joint venture producing roughly a tenth of India's salt [1], makes the government simultaneously regulator and beneficiary. - Devolved discretion: the 2017 Rules leave the list of prohibited and regulated activities to states, permitting permissive notifications [2]; boundary demarcation at Sambhar remains incomplete. - Wrong regulatory unit: rules govern the wetland polygon, not its hydrological catchment, leaving groundwater and brine extraction largely unaddressed — a driver of the salinity disruption implicated in the 2019 mass bird mortality. - Weak sanctions: the Rules carry no independent penalty machinery, relying on general EPA provisions and judicial intervention.

The framework is therefore adequate in design but deficient in coordination and enforcement. A catchment-based authority with statutory zoning separating salt pans from the wetland [5], satellite-based compliance monitoring, and alternative livelihoods for salt workers can align industrial use with SDG 6.6, converting the Ramsar tag from a label into protection.

(~325 words)

Sources: 1. Sambhar Lake — Ramsar Sites Information Service (RIS 464) — 1990 designation, ~24,000 ha, largest inland saline wetland, share of national salt output 2. Guidelines for Implementing Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 — MoEFCC — state discretion over prohibited/regulated activity lists 3. Wetlands in India — Press Information Bureau, MoEFCC — Rules notified under EPA 1986; State Wetland Authorities; restricted activities 4. Ramsar Sites of India (as on 30.01.2026) — MoEFCC — India's tally of 89 Ramsar sites 5. Industrial salt pans threaten Sambhar Lake's survival — The Hindu, 7 June 2026 — 1984–2023 satellite study, lake shrinkage with salt-pan expansion, call for spatial separation