Building Flood Resilience Through Interlinking of Lakes

The conventional approach towards Urban Water Management in India often works in silos. The Lake Redevelopment & Interlinking Project of Ahmedabad is a rare instance of city-level infrastructure development projected towards Sustainable Urban Water Management. The case study attempts to look at urban water bodies such as lakes as a crucial infrastructure system for the sustainable management of the urban water cycle and building resilience against floods. It details out the technical, administrative and financial details of the project along with the background triggers that led to the conception of this project. The research also dwells on understanding the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the project. The observed experience has been correlated with current legislations, regulations and statutory planning mechanisms concerning Nature-based Solutions or Blue-Green Infrastructure development. The case study includes recommendations for strengthening the implementation of interlinking of lakes as a Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Practice.