Srinagar, Sept 29: The Jammu and Kashmir government has assessed the cost of restoring flood-control and irrigation infrastructure damaged across the Union Territory at ₹507.47 crore, with Jammu division accounting for nearly 89 per cent of the total, a reply tabled in the Legislative Assembly has said.
Jammu division’s restoration requirement is ₹449.42 crore, while Kashmir division’s is ₹58.05 crore, the Jal Shakti Department said in response to a question by Gulmarg MLA Pirzada Farooq Ahmad Shah on flood management and protection measures in J&K, including the status of the Prime Minister’s Package for Flood Management.
The damage assessment annexed to the reply records that heavy rain and flash floods in Jammu division damaged 1,955 roads, affected 1,238 water-supply schemes, and damaged 369 schools and 11 health infrastructure facilities.
Rajouri has the highest restoration requirement in Jammu division at ₹194.43 crore — ₹151.15 crore for flood-sector restoration and ₹41.99 crore for irrigation — followed by Poonch at ₹170.82 crore, including ₹151.41 crore for flood-sector works and ₹16.31 crore for irrigation. The two districts together account for ₹365.25 crore of the total estimate.
In Kashmir division, the largest assessments are ₹20.52 crore for the Tangmarg division, ₹15.51 crore for Anantnag and ₹9.74 crore for Narbal.
On the Prime Minister’s Development Package for flood management, the government said a DPR submitted in 2009-10 for ₹2,083.90 crore was accepted as part of short-term flood mitigation measures, with works being executed in two phases.
Phase-I, approved for ₹399.29 crore in 2015-16, has been substantially completed. The carrying capacity of the Jhelum in the Srinagar reach has been increased from 31,800 cusecs to 41,000 cusecs, and at the offtake of the Flood Spill Channel from 4,000 to 8,700 cusecs. Expenditure of ₹328.02 crore has been incurred so far.
Phase-II (Part A) — the Comprehensive Flood Management Plan of River Jhelum and its Tributaries — was approved in March 2022 at an estimated ₹1,623.43 crore and is under implementation. Of 31 bank-protection and anti-erosion works costing ₹276.61 crore under execution, 18 have been completed. Two regulatory gates in Hokersar wetland have been completed and commissioned at a cost of ₹28.45 crore.
On Ferozpora Nallah in the Gulmarg constituency, the department said flood-management works at critical locations were taken up under PMDP Phase-II, sanctioned at ₹7.53 crore, against which ₹6.71 crore has been released and fully utilised and the works stand physically complete.
A separate DPR titled “Comprehensive Flood Protection Works on Ferozpora Nallah” has been prepared at an estimated ₹124.81 crore, covering vulnerable spots, and is proposed to be taken up under an appropriate scheme subject to availability of funds, the government said.
A DPR for flood-protection work involving a Gabion Toe Wall upstream and downstream of Kharkhal Bridge and Hardubani Bridge has also been prepared at an estimated ₹4.25 crore and submitted under the SASCI pool of projects.
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