In a step expected to enhance research and provide a new dimension to the conservation and development of Lonar Lake in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district, the State Higher and Technical Education Department has formed a 15-member Scientific Advisory Board. The board will be funded through the University Fund of the Sant Gadgebaba Amravati University.

Created by a meteorite impact thousands of years ago, Lonar Sarovar is a significant attraction for tourists, researchers, scholars, and naturalists at both national and international levels. The board is a result of efforts that began in 2009, when local authorities, recognising potential threats to the lake, filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench. The court issued orders for its preservation and conservation and in 2021, the state’s Revenue and Forest Department formed the Lonar Sarovar Development Committee. The committee, chaired by the divisional commissioner, Amravati Division, decided to form the board on February 19, 2022.