All About Jammu Kashmir Govt's Ambitious Eco-Hamlet Plan To Transform Iconic Dal Lake Without Displacing Dwellers
The UT ambitious plan replaces a 30-year-old project for the rehabilitation of Dal lake dwellers.
Published : March 31, 2026 at 6:27 PM IST
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government has shelved a three-decade-old rehabilitation plan for Dal lake dwellers and replaced it with a new plan to develop Dal habitations as eco-friendly homes without shifting the indigenous population, while restoring the lake's environmental importance.
Named the "Integrated Management Plan of Dal-Nigeen Lake," this new plan, currently under approval with the Government of India, will develop and convert the 58 habitations inside the lake into eco-friendly hamlets. This plan was proposed based on the recommendations of a committee that the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court formed in 2018 after disposing of a Public Interest Litigation filed by Syed Iqbal Tahir Geelani in 2015.
The Committee of Experts was headed by former MD, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Dr. E Sreedharan, former Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala, Dr. Nivedita P. Haran; and MD Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, Dr. Mangu Singh, M.C. Mehta is a retired IFS officer from Jammu and Kashmir. Its aim was to suggest recommendations for securing the lake as an Eco-Sensitive Zone under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and to restore its ecosystem and preserve the unique biodiversity of the lake, which has shrunk from an area of 50 Sq. Kilometers to 13.5 Sq. kilometers during the last decades.
The panel warned in its report that the lake, whose existence is imperative for climatological, ecological, economic and socio-cultural reasons, will not survive beyond 30 years if the conservation measures it suggested are not implemented.The committee noted that unrestricted sewage from hotels, lodges, restaurants, and shops into the Dal and from connecting humans must be stopped.
It also suggested that farmers inside the Dal must shift to organic farming for vegetable cultivation, as they use chemical fertilizers and pesticides whose remnants are released into the lake. It recommended completely stopping vegetable cultivation within the lake and providing farmers with alternate avenues. It suggested scientific management of solid waste management and fitting of houseboats with bio-digesters to save the lake from pollution.
The court in 2018 noted that the government spent Rs 400 crore on Dal lake over 15 years but nothing much has changed since 2002 when the rehabilitation plan was implemented to relocate the dal dwellers. More than 9,000 families inside the lake were proposed to be relocated and rehabilitated in new housing colonies in Srinagar, away from the lake so that its water, environment and land area remains protected.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah, who holds the portfolio of Housing and Urban Development department, said that under the ‘Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme’ for shifting Dal dwellers to Rakh-i-Arth and other colonies shifted only 3,108 families from the lake.
Of these 1,808 families were shifted to Rakh-i-Arth Housing Colony in Bemina, marshy land in Srinagar outskirts. But this rehabilitation hit their livelihood, social life in the new colony where each family was given free five marlas to construct a new house.
Mushtaq Ahmad, a dal dweller, who shifted to Rakh-i-Arth, told ETV Bharat that relocation not only disrupted their social life but also impacted their daily living because of the underdevelopment of the colony. “After our protests for years, the government built a school, a health centre, water supply and roads in the colony. These structures are still under construction. Our sufferings are manifold here. We regret the decision of shifting from the Dal,” he said.
Ahmad alleged the rehabilitation scheme was also misused by officials as several plots in Rakh-i-Arth were allotted to people who were not dal dwellers but resided in other districts. Allegations like these landed the rehabilitation into controversies and finally a probe by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in 2022. The outcome of the probe is yet to be made public with officials suggesting it is still going on.
Hearing the worst living experiences of their relatives and neighbours at Rakh-i-Arth, the other dal dwellers opposed the relocation because it led to the loss of their livelihood which they earn from rowing shikaras for tourists and operating houseboats as guesthouses for tourists. In addition to tourism, the dal dwellers also cultivate vegetables inside the lake.
Keeping their livelihood and social life in view, Omar said that under the In-situ Conservation Model the Dal dwellers residing in hamlets are treated as part of its ecosystem . “Instead of relocating them, the hamlets are proposed to be developed as Eco-hamlets. However, hamlets where only a few structures require relocation shall be excluded from the In-situ Conservation Model,” Omar said.
So far, under the ‘Eco-Development’ plan, Omar said six hamlets inside the Lake are being developed at a cost of Rs. 21.29 crore by the Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA). These hamlets include Kachri Mohalla, Sofi Mohalla, Tinda Mohalla, Mir Mohalla, Golden Lake Estate Karpora and Kani Mohalla.
Officials of the LCMA said to transform these villages, two sewage treatment plants are being constructed for the sewerage system. Other works include walkways, gazebo, viewing deck, eco-parks and other development works and fishing points. For household garbage treatment, door to door collection of waste has been proposed for conservation of the lake, the official said.
The indigenous Dal dwellers are welcoming the plan but are wary about its proper implementation. Yasin Tuman, a prominent houseboat owner and the Dal lake stakeholder, said that the eco-village concept is definitely a sustainable idea if it is implemented without causing harm to the lake and its inhabitants. “The plan should be considered from a human angle by taking on board the indigenous dal dwellers, without discriminating against them and without viewing them through social bias. Their habitations must be maintained scientifically and transformed into lovely habitations,” Tuman told ETV Bharat.
Other Dal dwellers like Tariq Patloo fear that the plan should not open doors for construction of hotels and buildings inside the lake that can further destroy its ecosystem. “Renovation and modification of existing structures is acceptable but no new construction should be allowed under this programme,” he said.
To allay these fears, the government said that all permissions will be governed by the Srinagar Master Plan 2035 and the High Court directions.
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