Kashmir faces notable flood every six years: Minister

SRINAGAR — Kashmir is prone to floods, and it witnesses one notable flood on average every six years. Steps have been taken to increase the carrying capacity of Jhelum. The information was provided by the Minister for Jal Shakti, Javed Ahmed Rana.

In reply to a question from MLA Farooq Ahmad Shah, Minister for Jal Shakti, as per the news agency JKNS, said that Kashmir valley has been prone to floods for ages. Floods of 1902, 1959 and 2014 were the most extreme flood events in recent living memory.

“As per records, 34 notable floods have been witnessed in the Jhelum basin since 1800, the recurrence is almost 1 per 6 years on average,” he said.

He added, “Under the PMDP package of 2015 announced by the Hon’ble PM of India after the September 2014 deluge, an amount of Rs 2083 crores was earmarked for flood management of river Jhelum and its tributaries. The DPRs were subsequently framed for implementation in two phases — Phase I & Phase II for short-term and long-term flood measures (PMDP-I for Rs 399.29 crores + PMDP-II Part-A for Rs 1623.43 crores).”

“Phase-I was approved for Rs 399.29 crores in 2015–16 by the Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR) and is nearing completion. The carrying capacity of river Jhelum was enhanced from 31800 cusecs to 41000 cusecs in Srinagar reach,” he said.

He went on to state that the project is under execution and Rs 114.293 crores from Central assistance has been spent. “A total of 30 bank protection works are being executed under this project out which 29 have been tendered and 16 are complete. The progress of these works is 80% in aggregate.”

“The entry and exit gates in Hokersar wetland have been completed at a cost of Rs 28.45 crores. These gates have been pivotal for the rejuvenation of the Hokersar wetland. During the lean period season, the gates will be closed to maintain pondage level of 3–4 feet within the wetland area for nourishing the wetland’s ecosystem and providing habitat for migratory birds,” he stated.

He further said that due to differences in reports of expert agencies, the works on the flood spill channel (FSC) and outfall channel (OFC) have not been commenced. “After a series of deliberations over 11 meetings, the CWC report was received in December 2024 and is presently under examination. Phase-II (Part-A only) was approved by MOWR in March 2022 for an estimated cost of Rs 1623.43 crores. The objective of Phase-II (Part-A) is to mitigate the flood threat of 60,000 cusecs.”

“The DPR of ‘Comprehensive Flood Management Works on River Jhelum & Its Tributaries — Phase-II’ was framed at an estimated cost of Rs 5411.54 crores and the same was submitted to the DoWR (RD&GR), MoJS, Gol on 17–01–2019 for approval. The CWC in their observations recommended prioritising the works and coming up with the Part A & B of the project separately in view of the available funds,” he said.

He informed the House, “In-principle approval was accorded by the State Administrative Council in June 2019 to the DPR, with the stipulation that while the department may proceed with the implementation of Part-A (estimated at Rs 1684.6 crores) utilising the available funds, with respect to the remaining, i.e. Part-B, the department may explore financing options. Thereafter, in July 2022, administrative approval of Part A of Phase-II has been accorded for Rs 1623.43 crores.”