JAMMU — February 09, 2026:-The Jammu and Kashmir government has launched a comprehensive two-pronged strategy to bolster flood resilience in the Anantnag district, combining immediate short-term mitigation with long-term infrastructure development.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Minister for Jal Shakti, Javed Ahmed Rana, detailed the administration’s efforts to safeguard life and property across 195 flood-prone villages.
The Minister explained that recent interventions have significantly fortified the region’s defenses against the threat of rising river levels, utilizing both temporary reinforcements and permanent engineering works to secure vulnerable embankments.
Under the long-term component of the plan, permanent protection works have been executed under the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) Phase-II. These include bank protection measures at critical locations costing ₹10.07 crore and the raising of embankments along 9,168 meters of flood-prone stretches at an investment of ₹18.97 crore.
For immediate preparedness, the government has focused on “short-term” interventions, such as the restoration of weak spots identified during safety audits and the pre-positioning of filled EC bags, personnel, and heavy machinery at strategic locations to ensure rapid response during the onset of the flood season.
Beyond flood management, Minister Rana provided an update on the district’s irrigation landscape, which currently supports a vast Cultivable Command Area (CCA) of 22,742 hectares. The district operates 64 irrigation schemes, including 47 gravity and 15 lift irrigation systems.
The Minister highlighted that while an irrigation potential for 18,667 hectares has already been created, work is continuing on several pending projects. Notably, seven schemes under the AIBP–PMKSY and two under the UT Capex have been completed, with the remaining projects in various stages of execution to further enhance agricultural productivity in the region.
