SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has prepared a preliminary Detailed Project Report (DPR) worth Rs 443.85 lakh to address recurring waterlogging and accumulation of rainwater in several low-lying agricultural areas of Chadoora constituency.
The Jal Shakti Department disclosed this in response to a starred question, D No. 1/6/640, tabled by MLA Ali Mohammad Dar regarding waterlogging, drainage and flood-mitigation measures in the constituency.
The government confirmed that agricultural land in several low-lying areas, including Rakh-i-Shalina, Sahlina/Sabina, Taingan, Sumbrugh, Pohru, Khennama and adjoining areas, has been severely affected by waterlogging and rainwater accumulation during periods of heavy precipitation.
According to the department, these areas are Nambal, or naturally low-lying and waterlogged areas, compared with the surrounding landform. The government said waterlogging is particularly severe where drainage is inadequate or streams overflow, and that the problem is inherent to the topography of the area.
The department said the preliminary DPR, estimated at Rs 443.85 lakh, has been formulated to address the issue. Its techno-economic viability is currently under examination, while an appropriate source of funding is also being explored.
The government has not yet specified the individual works proposed under the DPR, their sanctioned costs or a fixed implementation schedule.
It said timelines for the proposed drainage and mitigation works would be fixed once funding is committed, and that the schedule would be decided in due course.
The government was responding to questions on whether a comprehensive drainage and flood-mitigation plan had been formulated and whether time-bound measures would be undertaken to protect agricultural land, the livelihoods of affected farmers and vulnerable households.
