Kolleru Lake, a wildlife sanctuary and wetland ecosystem located between the Krishna and Godavari delta districts, is likely to shrink by 20,000 acres under pressure from people and aqua farmers who have been occupying the land for more than several years, people familiar with the development said.
On April 18, Principal Secretary (Forest Department) Kantilal Dande wrote to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest seeking permission to rationalize the boundaries of Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary by nearly 20 lakh acres.
Dande noted that the 48th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) held on March 27, 2018 also recommended to the CEC that the boundaries of the Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary be changed.
“However, in its letter to the state government dated July 25, 2018, the CEC had directed not to take any further action on the recommendation to reduce the boundaries of Koleru Lake,” he noted.
On January 16, 2025, the Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice BR Gavai, Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice K Vinod Chandran, directed the state government to submit a detailed status report on the situation of encroachments in Kolleru Lake, a notified wildlife sanctuary, people familiar with the matter said.
Based on a public interest lawsuit filed by environmental activist K. Mruthiunjaya Rao, the Supreme Court asked the government to explain the steps being taken to remove encroachments, especially aquaculture ponds and the measures needed to ensure that no further encroachments take place in the lake and protect the wildlife sanctuary from further damage.
The Kolleru Lake Management Authority, headed by the Chief Secretary to the State Government, held a meeting on December 19, 2025, and observed that any attempt to fix the boundaries by removing existing encroachments may cause law and order problems due to stiff opposition from the local public.
In his letter to the CEC, Dande noted that the management body of Kolleru Lake met again on February 8, 2026, and suggested that the state government implement the recommendations of the SC-NBWL on reducing the boundaries of the Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary by 20,000 acres.
The state cabinet, in its meeting held on February 24, 2026, also adopted a resolution in this regard and approached the CEC to lift its restrictions imposed in 2018 and give its approval to change the boundaries of Kolleru Lake, Dande said, adding that the state government would also submit its report to the Supreme Court accordingly.
Removing infringements is easier said than done
According to official records, Koleru Lake is spread over an area of 901 sq km encompassing areas formerly common to West Godavari, East Godavari and Krishna districts, and covers an area of 2.25 lakh acres at +10 contour level (10 feet above sea level), which is a designated wetland. It serves as a natural reservoir to balance the floods of these two rivers.
The lake is directly fed by water from the seasonal Podameru and Tamileru streams, and is connected to the Krishna and Godavari systems through more than 68 drains and canals.
The lake was notified as a wildlife sanctuary in November 1999 under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and designated as a wetland of international importance in November 2002 under the 1971 Ramsar Convention on International Wetlands. It is home to many vulnerable species and a diverse range of over 220 bird species, including nearly 100 migratory species from the Palearctic region.
Ecologist Mruthiunjaya Rao noted that Kolleru Lake, India’s largest freshwater lake ecosystem, is under severe threat due to widespread encroachment into the lake by aquaculture ponds, endangering the flora and fauna of the reserve.
“According to forest department officials, nearly 15,000 acres of wetlands have been converted into illegal ponds within the Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary by 2021. “The ponds have extended to at least 50-60% of the sanctuary,” Rao said.
Following the proliferation of aquaculture tanks, coupled with unauthorized cultivation in the Kolleru Lake command area and large-scale fishermen’s colonies coming up in the area, the state government fixed the lake’s boundaries at +5 circumference, covering an area of 308 sq km, i.e. about 0.77 lakh acres.
To challenge this, environmentalists went to court in 2001 to prevent further destruction of the lake. In 2006, the Andhra Pradesh government carried out ‘Operation Kolleru’ as directed by the Supreme Court and demolished 1,776 ponds spread across 43,000 acres within the Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS).
In 2009, the then government passed a resolution in the Assembly recommending that the United Progressive Alliance government reduce the boundaries of Koleru Lake from Contour +5 to Contour +3, thereby seeking to reduce the area of the lake further.
According to retired IAS officer and environmentalist EAS Sarma, in the last 15 years, encroachments on Kolleru Lake have continued and no steps have been taken to remove them.
“Removing encroachments is easier said than done for the state government, as it is not just a matter of protecting the livelihood of thousands of fishermen, but also a big political issue,” said Poliseti Satyanarayana, another environmental activist.
He said Satyanarayana said the state government was merely repeating an old proposal that had been in circulation since 2018. “The National Wildlife Board appears to be aimed at protecting wildlife or serving the commercial interests of aquarium operators in the region,” he said.
