SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has said that 10 km of internal channels and waterways of Dal Lake and its adjoining interiors have been dredged, widened and deepened over the past three years, while a new 30-million-litre-per-day (MLD) sewage treatment plant at Gupt Ganga is under construction to address untreated sewage entering the Dal and adjoining water bodies.
The details were given by the Housing and Urban Development Department in response to a starred question tabled by Tanvir Sadiq, MLA Zadibal, in the J&K Assembly on dredging, sewage-treatment plants and inflows into Dal, Nigeen, Khushalsar, Gilsar and Anchar lakes.
According to the government, 20 navigation and outflow channels with an aggregate length of 10 km were retrieved through dredging, widening and deepening during 2023-24 to 2025-26. The works covered several stretches inside Dal Lake as well as its outflow channels and links towards Jogilankar, Nowpora Bridge, Laam Mohalla and other areas.
The government said dredging is continuing in the current financial year using departmentally owned water masters. Three major works listed in the reply are the channel from Dol Damb to Meena Bazar through Angraz Hut, two main channels in Khushalsar from Saidipora Bridge to Firdousabad Colony and Sazgiripora, and the main Gilsar channel, whose dredging and deepening is almost complete.
On sewage inflows, the government said wastewater from the periphery and adjoining areas of Dal and Nigeen, as well as houseboats in Dal and Nigeen, is being treated through five STPs operated under the Lakes Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA). Their combined capacity is 36.70 MLD.
The five existing plants are Brari-Numbal (16.10 MLD), Nallah Amir Khan (5.4 MLD), Hazratbal (7.5 MLD), Habak (3.2 MLD) and Laam (4.5 MLD), according to the government reply.
The Brari-Numbal plant caters to the southern side of the lake periphery from Dalgate to Nehru Park and the western side of Dalgate, with eight intermediate pumping stations. The Nallah Amir Khan plant caters to areas including Lal Bazar, Bota Kadal and adjoining parts of Umer Colony-A, while Hazratbal serves areas including Ashai Bagh, NIT and Saida Kadal on the eastern side and Saderbal-Kanitar and the University area on the western side.
The Habak STP covers Habak, Tailbal and Shanpora and adjoining areas, while the Laam plant caters to the area between Makai Park and Ishber.
Despite these facilities, the government’s reply identifies multiple drains and inflows that discharge directly into water bodies, with the Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) listed as the jurisdictional agency for the identified locations.
Among the locations listed are Ishber-Shalimar catchment, Fisherman Colony/Dhobi Ghat, G.D. Goenka, Khajayarbal, Batyarbal, Saidakadal Bridge, Hasnabad, Abi Gurpora-Naidyar-Malpora-Jogi Lanker, Jogi Lanker-Nowpora Bridge, Habbak-Shanpora-Batapora Nallah, Khushalsar and Gilsar. The government provided GPS coordinates for the identified sites in its reply.
To bridge the gap between sewage generated and sewage treated, the government said a 30 MLD STP is being constructed at Gupt Ganga by UEED and is scheduled for completion within two years. The plant is intended to cater to the northern side of Dal Lake.
The government also said that LCMA has developed several ponds along the northern boundary of the main catchment area between Nishat and the Habak STP. These are functioning as detention/oxidation ponds, with around 8–10 MLD of unconnected sewage being routed through them.
According to the reply, the ponds provide some natural detention and oxidation and thereby allow partial removal of nutrient loads before the wastewater enters the lake. The government described this as a temporary arrangement, to remain until the unconnected sewage is integrated with the proposed Gupt Ganga STP.
The government further said that Khushalsar and Gilsar lakes were taken over by LCMA in 2025, while the assignment for construction of the sewerage network around the two lakes has been given to UEED. Anchar Lake, however, is not under LCMA’s jurisdiction, the reply said.
A significant administrative change is also in the pipeline. The government said that during the 27th Board of Directors meeting, it was decided to hand over all sewerage projects to UEED, along with men, machinery and records, to establish unified management of Srinagar’s sewerage projects, including those connected with Dal Lake.
On the condition of interior channels, the government rejected the assertion that several channels had not been cleaned or dredged for a long period. It said channels including Jogi Lanker-Rainawari, Chowdhary Bagh, Naidyar, Kankachi Sabzi Market and Lamba Mohalla are continuously cleared through manual deweeding and removal of solid waste and had been dredged during the 2023-24 financial year.
The government, however, did not give a fixed completion date for comprehensive dredging of all such interior waterways. It said cleaning is being undertaken continuously through manual deweeding and solid-waste management, while dredging of the remaining channels will be undertaken in the near future using department-owned machinery on a priority basis.
The 20-channel programme completed between 2023-24 and 2025-26 included stretches behind Hotel Leevard, between the vegetable market and Kanikach Nishat Bund, Doledemb-Kachri Mohalla, houseboat areas, Fisherman Colony-Nowpora Bridge, Nowpora Bridge-Jogilankar Junction and several outflow links towards Tang Bagh, Anchari Mohalla, Miskeen Bagh, Dalkawpora, Khushki Goripora and Baba Demb.
