On November 3, Jammu and Kashmir government renamed Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) as Jammu and Kashmir Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA). The order issued by the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory read, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, 1970 (Act XIX of 1970), the Government hereby rename Lakes and Waterways Development Authority constituted vide notification SRO 109 of 1997 dated 27.03.1997 as Jammu and Kashmir Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) for all purposes of the said Act.”
The acronym, LAWDA, has been subject of mockery over the Internet for years because it sounds like an abusive term for genitalia.
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi did not like LAWDA
From time to time, the acronym of the previous name of Lakes and Waterways Development Authority, i.e. LAWDA, had brought waves of trolling towards the government body whenever it made to headlines, even for good reasons. The governing body is responsible for taking care of the water bodies in Jammu and Kashmir, including Dal Lake.
In October 2021, after yet another wave of trolling over social media platforms, demand to change the name of the government authority came from Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. In a tweet, he had said, “Although not a big fan of name change, I’ll do a Bhajpa here and request the J&K authorities to change / slightly amend the name of Lakes and Waterways Development Authority.”
Interestingly, the website of the organisation did not use the word LAWDA, it refers to the organisation as JK LDA. However, for some reason, the Facebook page of the organisation calls itself LAWDA, even though its username is JKLDA. It was also used in official communications for example, some tender notices uploaded on the website use this acronym, while in some others, LDA is used.
