Performance Audit on Conservation and Management of Lakes in Jammu and Kashmir

An audit of how Jammu & Kashmir conserves and manages its 697 natural lakes, covering 2017-22, with six lakes — Dal, Wular, Hokersar, Manasbal, Surinsar and Mansar — examined in detail. It found no centralised lake authority and no lake-specific law, conservation programmes for only six lakes, encroachment where demarcation was never done, and sewage entering lakes untreated.

State: Jammu and Kashmir
Audit period: 1 Apr 2017 — 31 Mar 2022
Presented: 30 Mar 2026

Findings

Of the union territory's 697 lakes, conservation and management programmes existed for only six; for the other 691 the Forest Department neither identified which were eligible for central assistance nor made any plan to seek it.
“GoJ&K had Conservation and Management programmes for only six Lakes viz. Dal, Wular, Hokersar, Manasbal, Surinsar and Mansar... In respect of the remaining 691 Lakes, Forest Department neither identified the eligible Lakes nor formulated any plans to seek assistance under various programmes launched by the MoEF&CC.”Executive Summary
About one per cent of the union territory's capital budget over 2017-22 — ₹560.65 crore — went to the six lakes with programmes; of 63 lakes sampled and plotted on satellite imagery, seven were no longer visible or had almost dried up.
“Approximately one per cent (₹ 560.65 crore) of CAPEX budget of Jammu and Kashmir during 2017-22 was allocated to six detailed-checked Lakes... It was found that seven Lakes were not visible or had almost dried up.”Executive Summary
There was no centralised development and regulatory authority for lakes and no specific law, leaving functions diffused across five departments; Dal Lake's open water could not be restored because land was never acquired from lake dwellers, sewage plants malfunctioned and de-weeding was improper.
“There was no Centralised Development and Regulatory Authority and no specific legal statute/ Act for Conservation and Management of Lakes had been put in place... There were land use changes in Dal Lake due to non-acquisition of land from Dal dwellers, malfunctioning of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), improper de-weeding mechanism.”Executive Summary
2,528.10 kanals of Hokersar Lake had been encroached for want of survey and demarcation; Surinsar and Mansar were never demarcated and have no sewage treatment plants, so untreated sewage enters them.
“Due to lack of survey and demarcation, Lake area measuring 2,528.10 kanals of Hokersar Lake had been encroached upon... WLW-Kathua and SMDA had not carried out demarcation of boundary of Surinsar and Mansar Lakes due to which the two Lakes had remained open to encroachments. No STPs were in place for treatment of sewage generated by inhabitants living in the vicinity of Lakes.”Executive Summary

Findings

Of the union territory's 697 lakes, conservation and management programmes existed for only six; for the other 691 the Forest Department neither identified which were eligible for central assistance nor made any plan to seek it.

“GoJ&K had Conservation and Management programmes for only six Lakes viz. Dal, Wular, Hokersar, Manasbal, Surinsar and Mansar... In respect of the remaining 691 Lakes, Forest Department neither identified the eligible Lakes nor formulated any plans to seek assistance under various programmes launched by the MoEF&CC.”Executive Summary

About one per cent of the union territory's capital budget over 2017-22 — ₹560.65 crore — went to the six lakes with programmes; of 63 lakes sampled and plotted on satellite imagery, seven were no longer visible or had almost dried up.

“Approximately one per cent (₹ 560.65 crore) of CAPEX budget of Jammu and Kashmir during 2017-22 was allocated to six detailed-checked Lakes... It was found that seven Lakes were not visible or had almost dried up.”Executive Summary

There was no centralised development and regulatory authority for lakes and no specific law, leaving functions diffused across five departments; Dal Lake's open water could not be restored because land was never acquired from lake dwellers, sewage plants malfunctioned and de-weeding was improper.

“There was no Centralised Development and Regulatory Authority and no specific legal statute/ Act for Conservation and Management of Lakes had been put in place... There were land use changes in Dal Lake due to non-acquisition of land from Dal dwellers, malfunctioning of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), improper de-weeding mechanism.”Executive Summary

2,528.10 kanals of Hokersar Lake had been encroached for want of survey and demarcation; Surinsar and Mansar were never demarcated and have no sewage treatment plants, so untreated sewage enters them.

“Due to lack of survey and demarcation, Lake area measuring 2,528.10 kanals of Hokersar Lake had been encroached upon... WLW-Kathua and SMDA had not carried out demarcation of boundary of Surinsar and Mansar Lakes due to which the two Lakes had remained open to encroachments. No STPs were in place for treatment of sewage generated by inhabitants living in the vicinity of Lakes.”Executive Summary