Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 30: The Environmental Policy Group (EPG) today raised alarm over large-scale encroachments in Anchar Lake and other wetlands of Kashmir, calling for decisive, time-bound and accountable action to protect the valley’s fragile ecology.
Welcoming Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s recent call for a crackdown on encroachments along water bodies, the group said the administration must back words with concrete measures.
“How did these encroachments come up in the first place? Under whose supervision were they allowed to grow unchecked? And will those responsible be held accountable?” asked EPG Convenor Faiz Bakshi.
The group described the case of Anchar Lake as “most baffling,” pointing out that thousands of kanals have not only been encroached upon but also carved into plots, sold, and even “mutated in revenue records as proprietary land.”
“There is a 25-ft-wide road running deep into Anchar Lake to facilitate encroachment, development as plots and their sale,” it noted.
EPG said wetlands such as Hokersar, Haigham, Shallabugh, and Mirgund, as well as Dal and Nigeen Lakes, have also lost “tens of hundreds of kanals” to encroachers.
The group expressed shock over the management of Hokersar, where inlet and outlet hydraulic gated structures had to be constructed at an expenditure of about Rs 47 crore to correct the damage caused by deep dredging that drained the wetland and left it dry for more than three years.
At Haigham Wetland, EPG said, embankments are frequently cut by encroachers to drain out water, shrinking the spread and volume of the internationally significant habitat.
Similarly, it pointed out, illegal constructions, violations, and “overnight building of roads and bridges” continue in the LCMA jurisdiction of Dal, Nigeen, Khimber, and Chattergam, often by “influential individuals who remain unchecked by enforcement officers.”
The group also questioned why such encroachments persist despite widespread public awareness and administrative measures already in place.
Beyond wetlands, EPG flagged wider ecological threats, including vandalisation of nallahs and rivers, illegal mining, and degradation of karewas, which it said were worsening the crisis facing Kashmir’s water bodies.
“Wetlands and water bodies are the lungs of Kashmir’s environment. Their encroachment is not just an environmental concern but a loss for future generations,” Bakshi said.
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