Eluru (Adhra Pradesh) : As the sun rises over the picturesque Kolleru Lake, hundreds of pelicans, painted stork and rare species of local and migratory birds flock to its waters once again - thanks to one officer who used Gandhian principles to snatch back vast stretches of land from encroachers.

Asia's biggest shallow fresh water lake has regained its glory with migratory birds returning this winter after a gap of 17 years, providing a real treat for nature lovers and bird watchers.

Not long ago this 308 sq km flood balancing lake located between the deltas of Krishna and Godavari rivers was virtually a dead water body, with more than 70 percent of it encroached upon by illegal fish farms that had compartmentalized the sprawling lake into small polluted tanks.

Spread over two coastal districts of West Godavari and Krishna, 77,000 acres of this wetland eco system was declared a wild life sanctuary in 1999.

However, the local administration, to its utter shock, found that about 57,000 acres of the sanctuary area were encroached by illegal fish tanks and agriculture fields. It was improbable task to demolish 1,140 tanks and Rs.7 billion illegal economy linked to some 300,000 people in 46 villages on the banks of the lake.

The attempts by few officials to enforce law met with stiff resistance by the people and a lobby that had money, muscle and political power.

However, the determination of one man to preserve the lake and his Gandhian style of functioning changed the scene.

Since 80 percent of the lake area falls in West Godavari district, District Collector Lav Agarwal took up the gigantic task in September last year.

Though enjoying the full backing of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the young officer of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) came under immense pressure from the influential lobby of fish farm owners, who used every trick to stop lake restoration.

Last year, when Hindi blockbuster 'Lage Raho Munna Bahi' was not even conceived, Agarwal used Gandhigiri to change the mindset of the very people who were being used as human shields by a mafia to protect its Rs.7 billion illegal economy.

Risking his life, the 34-year-old officer went to the community, spoke to them for seven to 10 hours a day, ate with them and even slept in the villages to give a feeling that he was with them and finally succeeded in convincing them that demolition of fish tanks was in their own long-term interest.

"There was not a single incident in which we used police baton though thousands of women and children were used for protest demonstrations. We knew that even a minor incident involving use of force will bring the entire operation to a halt and this was what the mafia wanted," Agarwal told IANS in an interview.

Tracing the history of encroachments, he said that in 1976 the government had assigned 2,800 acres of land for poor for fish farming. The outsiders entered into the scene and took control of those lands.

While the farm owners and caste leaders of the villages used to pocket a sizeable income the families were earning Rs.4,000-20,000 a year.

In an attempt to disassociate the people from village leaders and mafia, the collector promised to show them alternate sources of livelihood for an annual income of Rs.40,000.

In the first phase between September to mid-November last year, the administration breached 380 fish tanks to prevent flooding in villages in upstream and farm land.

Later, on a complaint by an NGO, the Supreme Court in April this year ordered that all illegal fish tanks be demolished by June 15, 2006.

"We continued our efforts to convince the people. Many of them finally came forwards to demolish tanks on their own," Agarwal said.

Encouraged by the response, demolition was taken up on a war footing and the entire work was completed on June 15 at a cost of Rs.180 million.

"We demolished 31,000 acres of fish tanks. A total of 20,000 acres of government land worth over Rs.1,000 crores was restored in the form of the lake," he said.

"After independence this is probably the biggest ever operation done with Gandhian principles," said Agarwal. "It is a great learning process for me. It proved that the Gandhian principles are valid even in the present time. It highlighted the strength of democracy and concept of administrative leadership."

While continuing the demolition work to restore the lake, the administration initiated steps to protect the interests of the local community. An action plan of Rs.600 million was prepared. Assets of Rs.260 million have been created for self-employment.

The administration tied up with private firms to provide training for truck drivers, salesmen and other alternate jobs.

Cattle were supplied to local people for producing 100,000 litres of milk production for Vijay Dairy. The government decided to allot 3,400 acres of land worth Rs.1.2 billion above the sanctuary for the poor families.

Since traditional fishing is allowed in the lake, the fishermen are being provided training in value addition in collaboration with Central Institute for Fresh Water Acquaculture (CIFA).

Since the lake has 63 species of fish and the fish from here go to West Bengal and Kashmir, the collector is keen to set up an apex body to develop Kolleru brand.

The collector, who was initially seen by people as an enemy out to snatch their livelihood, has today become a god to them.

"We first put up many obstacles in his work but we realized our mistake," said Mahalakshmi Raju, the head of Pattikola Lanka village.

He was accorded hero's welcome by people of Komati Lanka village as he along with other officials reached there by boat.

"Pollution due to fish tanks and human activity had disturbed the habitat of birds," said S.V. Ramana, divisional forest officer of the Wild Life Managemnet

According to P. Gracious, assistant conservator of forests, Eluru, 188 species of birds including migratory birds like Pintail, Pochard and Shoveller have come to Kolleru.

The administration has developed a Rs.20 million tourism plan. "We will again involve the local community in this sector so that they get a sense of ownership," said Agarwal.

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