Jaipur lake restoration
Flagship water bodies across the region, the active restoration programmes and the court orders shaping them.
Abdul Rahman v. State of Rajasthan
Rajasthan High Court (Division Bench): issued directions to keep water flowing in the catchments of Ramgarh dam and of the Tala and Banganga rivers, in a public interest case on protecting Rajasthan's tanks and ponds as part of the right to life under Article 21. The order of 18 July 2003 in the same case required a survey of the catchment land misused for construction. Text as recounted by the Supreme Court in 2017; the High Court's own judgment was not read. Petition filed over construction and encroachment in the catchment of Ramgarh dam at Ramgarh Dam.
Source document (hcraj.nic.in) →Suo Motu v. State of Rajasthan, with Pyar Singh Meena, Raj Kumar Meena, and Suo Motu: In the matter of Save the Rivers, Lakes and Water Bodies
Rajasthan High Court (Division Bench, Jaipur): Opened as a single-judge suo motu case in 2011, which appointed a monitoring committee on 23 August 2011 and gave final directions on 29 May 2012. On 30 July 2026 a Division Bench directed WRD to remove all anicuts in the way of the flow to Ramgarh lake and the State to clear obstructions on five rivers. On 13 August 2026 it ordered the list of catchment encroachers published in two Hindi newspapers as statutory notice, with removal at their cost and police help if needed, and allowed citizens and journalists to report encroachments to the Jaipur Collector. Next listed 15 September 2026. Taken up by the bench on its own, concerning encroachments and anicuts in Ramgarh dam's catchment and on the lake bed at Ramgarh Dam.
LiveLaw coverage →National Institute of Medical Science University v. State of Rajasthan
Supreme Court of India: dismissed NIMS's petitions with costs of Rs 10 lakh each for 'brazen encroachment' on Khasra No. 526 in Ramgarh's catchment, and ordered JDA, with the State and the Jaipur Collector, to demolish that construction by 30 November 2017 at NIMS's expense. It recorded that the lake was still dry and that nothing substantive had been achieved on the ground despite the High Court's orders. Petition filed over a university's construction in Ramgarh dam's catchment at Ramgarh Dam.
Source document (hcraj.nic.in) →Jal Mahal Resorts P. Ltd v. K.P. Sharma and others
Supreme Court of India: partly allowed the developer's appeals against the Rajasthan High Court's judgment of 17 May 2012, which had declared the Mansagar precinct lease void. The lease stands for 30 years from the judgment instead of 99; 8.65 acres return to the State to be added to the lake; 14.15 acres stay a construction-free public promenade; a State or Environment Ministry restoration of Mansagar is not affected by the lease. Petition filed over the lease of 100 acres of the lake's shore and bed to a private developer at Mansagar Lake (Jal Mahal).
Source document (api.sci.gov.in) →Rajender Tiwari v. Union of India and others
National Green Tribunal, Central Zone Bench, Bhopal: held Nagar Nigam Jaipur Heritage liable for environmental compensation of Rs 10,000 a day for the night market it ran beside Jal Mahal lake, inside the Nahargarh sanctuary's eco-sensitive zone, from 1 November 2022 to 24 July 2023 without the monitoring committee's permission, to be deposited with the PCCF Wildlife, Jaipur; no such market without that committee's consent. Petition filed over a night market and untreated waste beside Jal Mahal lake at Mansagar Lake (Jal Mahal).
Order text (Indian Kanoon) →Nagar Nigam Heritage Jaipur v. Rajendra Tiwari
Supreme Court of India: on the corporation's appeal against the NGT, recorded a forest officer's report of 20 June 2023 that the lake 'has been completely damaged' by the night market, sewage from the corporation's headquarters and waste from its Indira Rasoi scheme; directed the corporation to appoint NEERI within a week; held the State's planned development of the lake until NEERI reports; barred vending and markets near the lake. Listed 24 March 2025; later orders not found. Petition filed over pollution of Jal Mahal lake by the municipal corporation at Mansagar Lake (Jal Mahal).
LiveLaw coverage →Alok Gupta v. State of Rajasthan and others
Rajasthan High Court (Division Bench, Jaipur): asked JDA to explain why it has not built the concrete drain channels near Ambawadi and between the hills and the Shastri Nagar to Vidyadhar Nagar road that a NEERI report recommends for the Dravyavati; listed with D.B. CWP 9497/2007 on 12 August 2026. Petition filed over unbuilt drain channels on the Dravyavati at Dravyavati river.
LiveLaw coverage →Restoration programmes touching Jaipur - 7
Restoration of Mansagar after the walled city's Nagtalai and Brahmapuri sewage drains had emptied into it since 1962: the Brahmapuri sewage plant was revamped to send treated water to the lake to make up evaporation, a two-step tertiary treatment plant was built, and the lake was cleared of hyacinth (Supreme Court 2014, PDF pp.8 and 25).
Estimated Rs 24.72 crore; the Ministry of Environment and Forests gave administrative approval on 5 September 2002, revised on 23 December 2002 (PDF p.25). The judgment records this as the PIL petitioner's account; it gives no completion date or final cost.
A 100-acre precinct on the lake shore leased on 22 November 2005 for restoring the Jal Mahal monument and building a tourism project. The Rajasthan High Court declared the lease void on 17 May 2012; on 25 April 2014 the Supreme Court reinstated it but cut the term from 99 years to 30, counted from the judgment, returned 8.65 acres to the lake, and kept 14.15 acres as a construction-free public promenade (PDF pp.143-149). It also held that a Mansagar restoration by the State or the Environment Ministry would not be affected by the lease (PDF p.147).
Private investment; the record we hold gives no project cost. The Court was told that phase I had been complete since February 2011 (PDF p.146).
The Supreme Court directed the corporation to appoint NEERI within a week to report on stopping the lake's pollution and on long-term restoration; the State's development plan in its letter of 26 November 2024 may not proceed without the Court's leave until NEERI reports; no vending or market near the lake, and dumping to stop at once.
No cost stated.
Removal of encroachments and obstructions across Ramgarh's catchment of about 769 sq km in Andhi, Jamwa Ramgarh, Amer, Shahpura and Viratnagar tehsils, so the Banganga, Madhoveni, Roda, Gomti and Tala can reach the dam again. The State prepared an Initial Action Plan in July 2012 and a Technical Committee reported on 9 January 2013 (Supreme Court 2017, PDF p.7). On 30 July 2026 the High Court told WRD to remove all anicuts in the way of the flow and asked what had been done since 2013; on 13 August 2026 it ordered the Collector's list of encroachers published in Rajasthan Patrika and Dainik Bhaskar, with removal at the encroachers' cost.
No budget in the court record we hold.
One package: sewage treatment plants at Brahmapuri (8 MLD) and Tal Katora (1 MLD) on the hybrid annuity model with 15 years' operation, desilting of Tal Katora lake, and rehabilitation of the Brahmapuri outfall sewer.
Estimated Rs 30.82 crore for the whole package; bids open 7 February to 27 March 2017; 24 months to complete.
The Dravyavati River Project: channel, embankments and five sewage plants along about 47.5 km of the river through the city, with ten years of operation and maintenance. No channel was built in the submergence areas of the Sikar, Gular and Ramchandrapura dams (High Court order of 19 December 2024). On 23 July 2026 the High Court asked JDA to explain why it has not built the drain channels near Ambawadi that a NEERI report recommends (D.B. CWP 2905/2024).
Contract of 18 March 2016 with the TPL-SUCG consortium: Rs 1,470.85 crore to build and Rs 206.08 crore for ten years of operation and maintenance. JDA issued a commissioning certificate on 9 December 2022 (Rajasthan High Court, S.B. CWP 14997/2024, order of 19 December 2024).
A Rajya Sabha answer, republished on the open data platform, counts 405 renovations of traditional water bodies in Jaipur district between 22 March 2025 and 12 March 2026. It does not name the scheme or list the water bodies, and it counts works, not distinct water bodies.
No cost stated.
Flagship water bodies - 8
WRD gauges it as a dam of 1.136 Mcum; on 8 October 2026 it held 0.906 Mcum (79.75%). JDA restored it under the National Lake Conservation Plan (Rs 24.72 crore, approved 2002). On 28 February 2025 the Supreme Court recorded a forest officer's finding that the lake 'has been completely damaged' by sewage and waste from Nagar Nigam Heritage, ordered NEERI appointed, stopped the State's planned development until NEERI reports, and barred vending near the lake. The record we hold has nothing after the hearing of 24 March 2025. The 321 acres is the 130 hectares the restoration DPR gave as the full spread (Supreme Court 2014, PDF p.103).
builder: Maharaja Man Singh of Amer (ruled 1589 to 1614), by damming the Darbhawati river, as the lessee told the Supreme Court in 2014 (PDF p.100) - fed by the Darbhawati river; from 1962 also the walled city's Nagtalai and Brahmapuri sewage drains (Supreme Court 2014, PDF p.8), later diverted, with treated water from the Brahmapuri STP let in to make up evaporation (PDF p.25)
Jal Mahal, a pleasure pavilion built in the 18th century, stands in the lake (Supreme Court 2014, PDF p.8). Since 2005 a 100-acre precinct on its shore has been leased to Jal Mahal Resorts; in 2014 the Supreme Court cut the lease from 99 years to 30 and returned 8.65 acres to the lake.
Design storage 75.040 Mcum (WRD); on 8 October 2026 it held nothing, and on the same date in 2025, when the state's dams were 90% full, it also held nothing. It irrigated until 1978 and then supplied Jaipur's drinking water (Supreme Court 2017). The Rajasthan High Court has been hearing the catchment encroachments since 2011: on 30 July 2026 it told WRD to remove the anicuts blocking the flow, and on 13 August 2026 it ordered the list of encroachers published in two newspapers. The record we hold has nothing after the hearing of 15 September 2026. The 2,558 acres is the reservoir area in the national dam register (10,350,000 square metres); OSM maps only about 112 hectares.
Water sports events of the 1982 Asian Games were held on the lake (Supreme Court 2017, PDF p.3).
Design storage 14.130 Mcum; full on 8 October 2026 (WRD). The national dam register gives an earth dam 18.75 m high and 2,499 m long, completed in 2001; the record we hold does not say whether 2001 is the first build or a rebuild.
Design storage 6.703 Mcum; 3.770 Mcum (56.24%) on 8 October 2026, against 5.06 Mcum a year earlier (WRD). Not in the 2019 national register of large dams. The record we hold gives no history.
WRD lists a Chandlai dam in Jaipur district of 2.040 Mcum, full on 8 October 2026. The same report lists a second Chandlai in Tonk district (4.530 Mcum); which one is the 122-hectare 'Chandlai Lake' OSM maps south of the city is not settled.
In February 2017 Nagar Nigam Jaipur tendered a 1 MLD sewage plant at Tal Katora and the desilting of the lake under AMRUT, in one Rs 30.82 crore package with an 8 MLD plant at Brahmapuri, to be done in 24 months. The record we hold has no award or completion. OSM maps about 6 hectares.
The first Census of Water Bodies records it as 'Mavtha Amer Mahal ke niche' (Maota, below Amer palace): 10.89 hectares of water spread, owned by another government agency, not in use, dried up and filled to a quarter, in its 2017-18 reference year. WRD does not gauge it. The record we hold has no custodian's own account.
WRD gauges it at 1.926 Mcum; it was empty on 8 October 2026. The census recorded 10.92 hectares, dried up and not in use, in 2017-18. The national dam register gives 43.75 million cubic metres gross but 4.375 million effective, which cannot both be right; neither figure should be published.
Methodology: Jaipur's lake record is mostly a court record. Mansagar was restored by JDA under the National Lake Conservation Plan and its shore leased to a private developer, a lease the Supreme Court cut to 30 years in 2014; in 2025 the Court found the lake damaged again and ordered a NEERI study. Ramgarh, once the city's reservoir, has been the subject of High Court orders on its catchment since 2004 and is still empty. Where a figure rests on a party's submission rather than a finding, the text says so.