Govt constructing 30 MLD sewage treatment plant at Gupt Ganga

Excelsior Correspondent

Srinagar, Sept 28: The Government is constructing a 30-million-litre-per-day (MLD) sewage treatment plant at Gupt Ganga to address sewage inflows into the northern side of Dal Lake, while the sewerage network around Khushalsar and Gilsar is yet to be fully integrated, the Legislative Assembly was informed today.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the Housing and Urban Development portfolio, said the Gupt Ganga STP is expected to be completed within two years.

He was replying to a question by Zadibal MLA Tanvir Sadiq on dredging of Dal Lake's internal channels, sewage treatment and inflows into Dal and adjoining water bodies.

The Government said five sewage treatment plants are currently functional, with a combined capacity of 36.7 MLD. These include Brari-Nambal STP (16.10 MLD), Nallah Amir Khan (5.4 MLD), Hazratbal (7.5 MLD), Habak (3.2 MLD) and Laam (4.5 MLD).

The existing plants cater to sewage from peripheral and adjoining areas of Dal and Nigeen lakes, including sewage generated by houseboats.

The proposed Gupt Ganga facility will cater to the northern side of Dal Lake.

However, a sewage-management gap remains around Khushalsar and Gilsar, where the sewerage network has not yet been fully integrated with the treatment system.

The Government said Khushalsar and Gilsar were taken up by the Lakes Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) in 2025, while construction of the sewerage network around the two lakes has been assigned to the Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED).

Pending integration, unconnected sewage around Khushalsar and Gilsar is being routed through ponds, which allow partial nutrient removal through natural detention and oxidation processes before the flow enters the lakes.

The Government described the arrangement as temporary and said the unconnected sewage would eventually be integrated with the proposed Gupt Ganga STP.

The Government also identified 12 locations where drains or inflows discharge into water bodies under UEED jurisdiction, including areas around Ishber-Shalimar, Fisherman Colony, G.D. Goenka, Khajayyarbal, Batyarbal, Saidakadal, Hasnabad, Abi Gurpora, Jogi Lanker, Habak-Shanapora, Khushalsar and Gilsar.

On Dal Lake's internal channels, Omar said 10 kilometres of waterways and channels in Dal and adjoining lake interiors had been cleaned or dredged over the last three financial years, from 2023-24 to 2025-26.

During the current financial year, mechanical dredging has been undertaken in the channel from Dol Damb to Meena Bazar through Angraz Hut, two main channels in Khushalsar-from Saidipora Bridge to Firdousabad Colony and Sazgiripora-and the main Gilsar channel.

The Government said dredging and deepening of the main Gilsar channel was almost complete.