The word “Srinagar” derives from the Sanskrit words ‘Sri’, meaning wealth and abundance and ‘Nagar’ meaning ‘city’. Srinagar for the ‘city of abundance’. With the recent spurt in violence and instability, one is tempted to believe that those are the only things the city has in plenty. Fortunately, Srinagar does have one more resource in abundance and that is water.  The origins of the major rivers of the Indus Basin lie in Jammu and Kashmir. India and Pakistan have plans to build numerous hydroelectric power projects on these Rivers, to meet the escalating energy needs of the countries, which would have major ramifications for the state.  These projects would alter the environment, displace thousands of people and reduce the control of the local inhabitants on their water resources.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir feel blighted because they do not have a say in the control of their water resources. The use of water resources in their state has not been reciprocated with compensation or setting up of industries, job creation or local involvement in water resources management. Kashmiris on both sides of the border also feel that the Indus Water Treaty has been unjust to them by ignoring their rights over the use of waters in their region.

Jammu and Kashmir faces a string of water related issues. First, most of the lakes in the region, including the famous Dal Lake, have been pushed to the verge of extinction by excessive water pollution. Unplanned development in the city and poor sanitation has resulted in shrinking the Dal Lake to almost half its size.  Second, and more significantly, the hydroelectric projects have had devastating environmental effects. India’s Kishenganga Project, though currently embroiled, when completed, will submerge and inundate many parts of the beautiful Gurez Valley and displace more than 25,000 Dard Shin people, the natives, from their ancient homeland. Similarly on the Pakistani side, the planned Neelum-Jhelum Project will have a serious impact on Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). The population of PoK depends on river waters and natural springs for irrigation and drinking water and the project will result in serious water shortages.

There are few ways that this issue can be addressed. One is by veering away from big hydroelectric projects that have massive human and ecological costs to smaller, community-based projects, and towards joint water projects between India and Pakistan.

Another possible method is by enhancing the water availability in Jammu and Kashmir through a water management program. A pioneer example of this has been the Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Watershed Management, Madhya Pradesh (RGMWM). This programme was started in 1994 and has been extremely successful in the sustainable development of the area on a watershed basis. Watershed Management aims for the conservation of natural resources, an increase in agricultural productivity and an improved standard of living for the inhabitants. The process can include enhancing the supply, quality and drainage of water and the overall planning and utilization of watersheds.

The Mission was based on the assumption that people’s livelihood insecurity in environmentally endangered areas could be addressed by involving them in the solutions. The programme has led to conservation of land and water resources in Madhya Pradesh (MP). The most significant tenet of this strategy, however, is the aspect of community participation, which provides the local inhabitants with a livelihood. Known as ‘Nirakh Parakh’, the strategy ensures transparency through direct community involvement. The activities undertaken and the processes adopted are identified and assessed by the stakeholders in the presence of the entire village and facilitators. 

The Program succeeded on various levels. One of the main achievements was the increase in cropped area in 46 of the 58 villages in MP. An increase in irrigated area was noticed in 38 of the 58 project villages. There was also a direct increase in employment opportunities, and appreciation of crop yield, land values and livestock. The mission was also able to achieve for the state, an increased resilience to droughts and enhanced productivity of farm land combined with democratic decentralization and community empowerment. Most important, however, was the sociopolitical awareness that it engendered about sustainable natural resource management. ‘Water’ emerged as a mainstream public discourse, both within and outside the project villages, and people started thinking in terms of conservation and management of water.

The mission in the last eight years has grown to be the country’s largest watershed management programme covering 7600 villages. It has completed work on over 14.8 lakh hectares of land and is targeted to cover over 34.38 lakh hectares. The watershed mission model started from MP and went across to Andhra Pradesh, Orrisa, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Given the current water shortage in J&K, and the people’s grievances against the damming of the place, watershed management could and should be a potential solution. The local government must explore this option and like MP, involve the Kashmiris in its implementation. It will give them the opportunity that has so far been denied to them, in managing their own natural resources.