by Umaima Reshi
SRINAGAR: Kashmir bazaars continue to report a slump despite a good tourist season. But that does not mean shops will not be added. New shop lines are being added almost on a daily basis, in both the private and public sectors.
In Kashmir, people are used to treating shops as part of asset creation, even when there is no business to run in them. This idle investment is a costly fortune for the small economy of Kashmir.
Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) knows it better. The Sangarmal complex is still paying for both investors and the SDA.
The Sangarmal City Centre, located on MA Road at Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar, is spread over 22 kanals and was conceived as a major commercial hub for the city. The complex has a landscaped area with fountains, basement and surface parking, lifts, escalators and other facilities. Its commercial inventory comprises 62 shops in the main commercial module, 38 spaces in the Craft Bazaar, 11 kiosks, two food courts, one restaurant and 11 office spaces.
Yet 31 of the 62 shops in the main commercial module are still available for auction. These include 15 spaces on the ground floor and 16 on the first floor. In the Craft Bazaar, eight of the 38 spaces remain available for auction, one on the lower ground floor, one on the upper ground floor and six on the first floor, with loft space.
Nearly half of the main commercial spaces at Sangarmal are therefore still looking for buyers. The figures are particularly striking given the complex’s location on MA Road, Lal Chowk, one of Srinagar’s most prominent commercial and administrative addresses.
The SDA is now changing tack.
Instead of relying solely on premium-based sales, the authority plans to offer 42 shops at Sangarmal on rent through flexible leasing arrangements. Officials said the shift follows market feedback that brands and commercial tenants increasingly prefer renting rather than buying. The authority is also exploring tie-ups with hospitality and tourism operators.
Sangarmal, however, is only one part of the SDA’s commercial story.
At the Mechanized Parking complex in Lal Chowk, located at the erstwhile KMD bus yard, the authority has created parking capacity for 286 cars alongside commercial space being offered for auction.
The complex has six halls spread across the ground, first and second floors. Four halls are meant for the general category, while two on each floor are reserved for women entrepreneurs. There are also five shops measuring 82.85 square feet each, of which three remain available for auction.
At Bemina, opposite SKIMS Hospital, the SDA has constructed the three-storey Jhelum Valley Shopping Complex, comprising 28 shops, six halls and four rooms. Sixteen shops and spaces are currently available for auction, seven on the ground floor, eight on the first floor and one hall and one room on the second floor. Each floor has separate washroom facilities for women and men.
The authority is also adding more commercial space.
The SDA has cleared the way for additional commercial floors over the multilevel parking structures at Old State Motor Garage (SMG) and Sheikhbagh. Both structures were originally designed for seven storeys, but so far only their parking components have been completed.
Two rounds of expressions of interest failed to attract a satisfactory response from private investors. The SDA will now proceed with the projects on a self-financing basis.
The Old SMG project has an estimated cost of Rs 33.95 crore against an expected premium of Rs 64.80 crore. The Sheikhbagh project is estimated to cost Rs 33.12 crore, against an expected premium of Rs 62.63 crore.
Two ageing shopping complexes at Batamaloo are also headed for demolition and reconstruction.
The Pamposh Shopping Complex at GBS Batamaloo, built in 1992-93 and subsequently expanded to 142 shops, was found by the District Investigation and Quality Control (DIQC) wing to have deteriorated structurally. Corroded reinforcement has ruled out any further vertical expansion.
Rather than repair the existing structure, the SDA plans to demolish and rebuild it as a double-storey complex. The project is estimated to cost Rs 8.24 crore and is expected to generate a premium of Rs 29.16 crore.
The Workshop Complex on the Batamaloo-Magarmalbagh road faces a similar fate. Built in 1986-87 with 44 shops, it too was found by DIQC to be unfit for vertical expansion.
Its reconstruction is estimated to cost Rs 12.44 crore and is expected to generate a premium of Rs 12.32 crore, besides roughly Rs 5.70 lakh in additional annual rental income.
The SDA is also revisiting rents across its commercial portfolio.
Officials said a market assessment carried out by KPMG has been completed to support an evidence-based revision of rates across the authority’s 3,618 allotted shops and sites. Around 1,764 leases have already expired.
The absence of a lease-extension policy has left the authority exposed to litigation risk while its revenue has stagnated. The proposed revision is intended to bring rents closer to prevailing market rates.
Then there is the Community Hall at Gonikhan. Built by the SDA at a cost of Rs 1.09 crore and commissioned in 2019, the double-storey facility has hosted only one function since it opened, officials said.
Despite its location on prime commercial land, the facility has remained largely underutilised. The SDA now plans to convert it into a commercial asset through public auction, with KPMG expected to determine the reserve rental on the basis of its market assessment.
Taken together, these projects tell a larger story about Kashmir’s commercial economy.
The Valley’s bazaars continue to face pressure even after a relatively good tourist season. E-commerce, meanwhile, is no longer a novelty. It is a new and established entrant into the market, and consumers have adapted to it.
That does not mean Srinagar does not need new commercial spaces. It does. But new shop lines need to be added rationally, after studying demand, purchasing patterns, footfall and the viability of existing commercial areas.
What Srinagar cannot afford is another Sangarmal, another complex in which huge amounts of capital remain locked up, contributing little to trade and leaving the SDA itself struggling to monetise its commercial assets.
And yet, as if everything is going smoothly, another shopping mall is now on the way.
The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, has approved construction of the PM Ekta Mall Project at Kashmir Haat in Srinagar at a cost of Rs 130 crore. The project is intended to promote handicrafts.
The question is: will the shopkeepers there end up selling the same Amritsari shawls all over again?
