The benefits of improving urban lakes in mega cities: a revealed and stated preference approach applied to the Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad, India

In this study, the author estimates the demand for improvements in the site quality of Hussain Sagar, a large lake in metropolitan Hyderabad, India. Using both revealed and stated preference approaches, it is estimated that the park provides recreational benefits of US$35 per person for on-site respondents and US$14 for off-site respondents per visit to the park. Given that over one million people visit the lake and its parks every year, based on different scenarios, the annual estimated amenity value of the lake ranges from INR1.76bn (US$29m) to INR3.48bn (US$58m). Thus it is recommended that park authorities double the access fee to the park from the current INR10 (US$0.16). With this increase, the government can potentially earn US$0.36-1.48m in revenues per year, which will make it possible to improve the quality of the lake and its surroundings.