Hyderabad: Nexus Select Trust, India’s largest retail real estate platform, has announced the successful rejuvenation and handover of its 10th lake under its flagship ESG program “Lakes of Happyness.”. The initiative, which aims to adopt and revive 15 lakes by FY2026, focuses on restoring India’s vanishing urban and rural water bodies through sustainable, community-driven methods.
Launched in 2022, Lakes of Happyness has already revived 10 lakes across four states, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana benefiting over 100,000 people across 100+ villages and local communities. The Hyderabad phase marks a major milestone, with the Gurunath Cheruvu lake spread over 21 acres in Miyapur, now fully restored and handed over to the local society for their recreational activities.
Dalip Sehgal, CEO, Nexus Select Trust, said: “Water scarcity is not just an environmental issue, it’s a human one. When a lake revives, life revives. Through Lakes of Happyness, we’re bringing back not just water, but wellbeing for people, for nature, for generations to come.”
What makes Lakes of Happyness stand out is its reach beyond the company’s immediate business footprint. Many of the rejuvenated lakes lie far from Nexus malls, in regions where local livelihoods depend critically on water from drought-prone farmlands in Chalisgaon to temple-linked ecosystems in Chennai and wildlife corridors in Bengaluru.
Working alongside celebrated water conservationists such as Anand Malligavad (“Lake Man of India”) and Gunwant Sonawane, Nexus has employed traditional, nature-based restoration methods — avoiding cement and steel, focusing instead on de-silting, deepening basins, planting native species, and rebuilding natural catchment areas.