KOCHI, 8/1/2026
The Kerala High Court has held that the member secretary of the State Wetland Authority can function as the CEO of the Ashtamudi Wetland Management Unit that was envisaged to conserve the Ashtamudi wetland.
It further expressed its displeasure over the delay in constituting the management unit. The court was hearing a contempt plea filed by Boris Paul, a lawyer, alleging that the government is yet to comply with the directions issued by the High Court in July 2025.
The court had directed the State government and the State Wetland Authority Kerala (SWAK) to constitute the wetland management unit for the conservation of the wetland within two months of a notification being issued for this. In addition, an integrated management plan for the wetland was to be finalised within six months. The direction came when the court was considering a public interest litigation (PIL) highlighting the rampant waste dumping and encroachments in the Ashtamudi wetland, which in turn was causing water pollution and the destruction of mangrove forests. The second biggest wetland in Kerala, the Ashtamudi lake was designated a Ramsar site in 2002. In the PIL, Mr. Paul and Kollam-based Help Foundation had sought a court directive to remove the encroachers and to form an independent monitoring committee to continuously monitor the lake’s conservation measures.
A sanitation survey done by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) around the lake in 2020-2022 revealed serious health risks due to poor waste management. Open defecation around Ashtamudi was contributing to the spread of waterborne diseases, while 18% of households discharged toilet waste directly into the waterbody.
A report of the Committee on Environment of the Kerala Legislative Assembly had in its report submitted to the Assembly on 17, March, 2023 stated that the Ashtamudi wetland faced heavy pollution, encroachments, and siltation. Its area reduced from 61.40 sq. km. to 34 sq. km, while its depth reduced to less than half a metre in many areas. Mangroves and crucial fish-breeding grounds have almost disappeared, and fishers dependent on this wetland were on the verge of losing their livelihoods. Human waste, chemicals and untreated hospital and commercial waste entered the wetland through the Kollam canal.
In 2023, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had imposed a penalty of ₹10 crore on the State government for its failure to protect the Ashtamudi lake and other wetlands.
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