J&K shelved the Dal Lake restoration plan | 16 Feb 2026

Why in News?

The Jammu and Kashmir government decided to shelve the ₹416.72-crore restoration and conservation plan for the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar,primarily due to its poor implementation outcomes and a strategic shift toward in-situ conservation. 

Key Points: 

• Reasons for Shelving the 2009 Plan: Over 17 years, the project achieved only 27% of its conservation goals. 
  • Failed Relocation: The plan originally aimed to relocate approximately 9,000 families to the Rakh-e-Arth colony but only 1,808 families were rehabilitated. 
  • Unsuitable Resettlement Site: The Rakh-e-Arth site was low-lying and flood-prone, requiring massive expenditures on land filling rather than actual infrastructure. 
• The 2009 Plan:The shelved restoration and preservation plan, introduced in 2009.  
• New "In-Situ" Policy Shift:The government is pivoting to a model that recognizes lake dwellers as an integral part of the ecosystem rather than encroachers to be removed.  
  • Eco-Hamlets: 58 internal hamlets will now be developed as "eco-hamlets,". 
  • New Investment: A new ₹212.38-crore Detailed Project Report (DPR) drafted by IIT Roorkee has been proposed under the Prime Minister’s Development Package. 
• Focus Areas: This new five-year plan focuses on installing modular Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), dredging interior channels, and reviving internal water circulation.