Assembly passes grants for JSD, Forest, Tribal Affairs Depts
Rs 430 cr approved for flood damaged works
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Feb 13: Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology, Environ ment and Tribal Affairs Depart ments, Javed Ahmed Rana today said that there was a liability of over Rs 1500 crores in respect of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Scheme in the Jammu and Kashmir while over 1000 Non-gazetted posts in the Jal Shakti department have been referred to the J&K Service Selection Board for recruitment.
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While speaking in the J&K Legislative Assembly today on the grants of his departments, the Minister said that under Jal Jeevan Mission Rs 13,343 crores were allocated to the Jammu and Kashmir by the Union Government for providing drinking water to every house hold. More than 70 to 80 % works have already been executed under the Scheme.
The Minister disclosed that under JJM there was a liability of over Rs 1500 crores. When the Omar Govt took over the charge, the liability was about Rs 400 crores. Since many works are yet to be executed, the Chief Minister and he himself took the matter with the concerned Union Minister and now the scheme has been extended up to December 2028. The liability in respect of works will be cleared when the funds are released, he added.
Rana asserted that under JJM, the government is committed towards ensuring universal Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs), adding that 15.64 lakh households have already been provided tap water supply and remaining will be covered through completion of ongoing schemes and upgradation of existing connections.
He said that for 2026–27, a Capex Budget of Rs 1561.9 crore has been proposed, reflecting a 10.4 percent increase over the revised estimate of Rs. 1399.5 crore.
Highlighting the progress made in the last year, he said that 69 projects, costing Rs 302 crore were commissioned, benefiting nearly 29,000 households. He mentioned that Union Finance Minister has agreed on the enhanced outlay and the Omar government is committed to complete the mission within the extended timeline.
Rana further stated that under NABARD RIDF, 57 schemes costing Rs 740.49 crore are under execution, of which, seven have been completed while the remaining schemes have been targeted for completion during 2026–27. He said that under UT Capex, 1,136 drinking water works are under execution with 419 already completed and 550 schemes targeted for completion in 2026–27.
He informed that two major water supply projects are underway to ensure uninterrupted supply to AIIMS Awantipora and AIIMS Vijaypur. The Rs 54 crore water supply scheme for AIIMS Awantipora is being implemented in two phases, with Phase-I completed and Phase-II slated for completion in 2026–27. The scheme for AIIMS Vijaypur has achieved 95 percent physical progress, he added.
The Minister said that under SASCI, 42 projects worth Rs 163 crore have been approved, Rs 155.38 crore released and Rs 47 crore spent so far, while flood damage works worth Rs 430 crore for the year 2025 have also been identified for restoration.
He maintained that the Government has also strengthened the human resource management within the Jal Shakti Department. He added that all vacant posts of Chief Engineers are being filled up, Superintending Engineer posts have been fully staffed in April 2025. Rana further said that two DPCs have been held, promoting 47 Junior Engineers besides 62 compassionate appointment orders have been issued in the past three years. Over 1,000 Non-gazetted posts have been forwarded to JKSSB for recruitment, he added.
Referring to Irrigation & Flood Control sector, the Minister announced a substantial enhancement in capital expenditure, with Capex for 2026–27 proposed at Rs 996 crore, marking a 62 percent increase over the revised allocation of Rs 612 crore in the previous year.
Under the ‘Har Khet Ko Paani’ programme, the Minister stated that 143 Irrigation Schemes are currently in progress, of which, 50 are targeted for completion during the coming year, adding irrigation potential for nearly 13,000 hectares.
The government is also leveraging institutional support, with NABARD backing 45 ongoing Irrigation projects, including 12 projects scheduled for completion in 2026–27. In addition, 20 new RIDF-31 projects amounting Rs 156 crore have been approved to further expand irrigation coverage, he said.
He disclosed that major flagship projects are nearing completion with Shahpur Kandi Dam Project in its final stage. The project is expected to provide irrigation benefits to over 32,000 hectare of land in Kathua and Samba districts.
The Minister said that the Tawi Barrage Project in Jammu, being executed at a cost of Rs 64 crore, has achieved about 90 percent physical progress.
Under the Comprehensive Flood Management Project of River Jhelum, Rana said that flood-carrying capacity between Sangam and Padshahibagh in Srinagar has been enhanced from 31,800 cusecs to 41,000 cusecs, significantly improving the flood safety. Further, under PMDP Phase-II (Part A), 31 bank protection works worth Rs 276.61 crore are under execution, with 17 works already completed, he added.
He further said two regulatory gates at Hokersar wetland have been completed at a cost of 28.45 crore, aiding ecological restoration.
Speaking on the Forest, Ecology & Environment Department, Rana emphasised that forests are the lifeline of Jammu & Kashmir, covering almost half of its geographical area. He said for the fiscal 2026–27, an enhanced allocation of Rs 242 crore has been proposed, reflecting strong commitment towards conservation and sustainable development. He underlined that under UT Capex 2025–26, Rs 168.18 crore have been approved, of which Rs 141.14 crore have been released and works worth Rs 56.97 crore have already been executed. He added that against the approved allocations of Rs 175.06 crore under CAMPA, Rs 155.14 crore have been released.
On demarcation issue, the Minister assured the House that in future this process will be conducted by the Forest officials in presence of Revene officials and the local stake holders.
“Under the flagship initiative ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’, plantation of 71.77 lakh saplings till January 2026 has been achieved, with a target of one crore saplings to be fully achieved. In 2026–27, one crore additional saplings will be planted with active public participation”, he said.
Maintaining that Wetland conservation remains a priority with 260 wetlands mapped using GIS and remote sensing, the Forest Minister said that revival of Wular Lake, a Ramsar site, with 5 sq km dredged and 2,952 hectares afforested, has benefitted over 5,200 fishermen.
He highlighted that wildlife conservation measures have covered 11.5 percent of the UT’s area, with over 3,002 animals rescued and Rs 214 crore+ compensation disbursed for human-wildlife conflict.
Rana said this year will also witness completion of SASCI projects, installation of sensor-based air quality monitoring systems, upgradation of Jambu Zoo, establishment of conservation breeding centres for endangered species and creation of wildlife protection infrastructure to mitigate human–wildlife conflict.
Referring to Tribal Affairs department, Rana said that Omar Government has made the inclusive and dignity-centric development of tribal communities a top priority
He said that Jammu and Kashmir is home to a significant tribal population including Gujjars, Bakerwals, Gaddis, Sippis, Pahari Ethnic Group, Paddaris and other indigenous communities. The Minister said that for 2026–27, the Tribal Affairs Department will focus on four key pillars; Education and Human Development, Livelihood and Economic Strengthening, Infrastructure and Migration Support besides Cultural Preservation and Institutional Strengthening.
To support the students from remote and migratory families, Rana said that 28 Scheduled Tribe hostels are currently operational, 26 new hostels are under construction and 10 are nearing completion. Six Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) are functioning in UT and six more have been proposed. Under UT Capex 2025–26, Rs 78 crore have been released and around 2,000 infrastructure works have been undertaken, including livestock units, hand pumps, bore wells, power lines, rural roads, bridges, culverts, milk villages and transit accommodations.
Rana said that for 2026–27, Rs 60 crore have been proposed for 1,000 small infrastructure works including roads, bridges, drinking water and power supply schemes to enhance infrastructure and migration support.
Later, several MLAs withdrew their cut motions on assurance of Minister and the House passed grants worth Rs 3,241.77 crore for Jal Shakti /Public Health Engineering, Rs 1,524.82 crore for Forest, Ecology and Environment, Rs 1,606.99 crore for Irrigation and Flood Control and Rs 406.01 crore for Tribal Affairs Departments.
The grants for the departments were passed through a voice vote after a daylong debate by the members.
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