A civil society group proposes a water security commission amid concerns over shrinking water bodies in Kashmir

The Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) — a civil society body comprising former bureaucrats and judges — on Friday (June 26, 2026) proposed setting up a commission on water security, water resources and environmental resilience under the chief minister, along with a glacier monitoring mission.

“We declare the period 2026-2035 as the Decade of Water Security and Ecological Restoration in J&K. We call on the government, legislature, local institutions, academia, private sector, civil society and every citizen to work together to restore and protect natural systems,” reads the Srinagar Declaration, a policy document prepared in the wake of the expansion of forest roads due to the warnings of experts and experts. shrinking glaciers in Kashmir.

In a 10-point proposal, the GCC suggested a Commission for Water Security and Environmental Resilience headed by the CM; a water security strategy based on integrated river basin management; climate risk action plans; glacier, spring and watershed monitoring missions; restoration of large wetlands, floodplains and river corridors; establishing a climate and environmental risk observatory with a real-time environmental dashboard, etc.

J&K Special Fund for Climate and Environment was also applied for; urban water action plans; integrating environmental sustainability and climate resilience into every major public investment and infrastructure project.

“Due to the retreat of all our glaciers, the discharge in our rivers, nullahs and streams is likely to decrease further, leading to acute shortage of drinking water and water for crop irrigation. All water bodies including our rivers and lakes are in a bad condition, silted and silted,” said Khurshid Ahmed Ganai, retired IAS officer and GCC chairman.

“environmental emergency”

A recent Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report stated that the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has lost a staggering 70% of its wetlands and water bodies since the 1960s. Of the 697 lakes recorded in 1967, 315 have completely disappeared on an area of 1,537 hectares. “This is the state of the environment,” Mr Ganai said.

He said the Forestry Amendment Bill 2023 was a failure. “It has allowed all types of security infrastructure in forest areas within 100 km of the LoC or international border without Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and formal environmental clearance. Other important environmental issues are the continuous construction activities of roads and tunnels in hills and mountainous areas without regard to EIA,” said Mr. Ganai.

The bad news, he said, was that the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change had authorized the felling of nearly 2.8 million trees on forest land during the last three years. Large-scale infrastructure development in hills and mountains is destabilizing mountain formations as seen in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand,” Mr. Ganai said.

Meanwhile Dr. Karan Singh, who served J&K as Sadar-e-Riyasat and Governor in the past, also raised concern over “unplanned expansion of infrastructure in the Himalayas”.

“Roads and large-scale development projects in the Himalaya region have destabilized the mountain ecosystem. Excessive highway expansion and tunneling have caused serious ecological damage. Why should tourists need four-lane roads?” said Mr. Singh, who also served as Tourism Minister in 1967, speaking at an event organized by the GCC.

At Dal Lake, Mr Singh said the size of the watercourse had “shrunk to almost one-third of its original size over the decades”.

Published – 26 Jun 2026 22:06 IST