On October 31, the executive engineer of the Jal Shakti Department in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district issued an alarm about a “drastic decrease” in drinking water availability. In a letter to the district mineral officer, Shakeel-ul-Rehman identified rampant illegal riverbed mining on the Sukh Nag stream as the primary cause.
Despite no mining leases ever being granted due to the stream’s ecological importance—it supports a thriving trout population and serves as a water source for numerous villages—illegal mining has led to its drying up.
A similar crisis has unfolded in the district’s Dawlatpora village, where a Rs 30-crore modern water treatment plant built between 2010 and 2022 is now almost defunct. While the infrastructure exists, the water source—Arbal Nag, an ancient spring—has nearly dried up over the past two to three years.
“Arbal Nag has been the identity of our village for centuries—a true daulat (treasure) for us,” says Abdul Gani Rather, a former sarpanch of the village. “For the past 40 years, the spring also supplied water to our village through pipelines. However, the spring’s source, the Doodh Ganga river, located 300 m away, has been devastated by deep riverbed mining. This has destroyed the seepage that fed Arbal Nag,” he says.
Now, water is lifted directly from the Doodh Ganga at Nowhar village, and channelled through pipelines to the plant in Dawlatpora. Residents claim this water is unsafe for consumption. “Untreated water reaches the plant via a pipeline and is then directly sent to homes. This has serious health implications for the residents,” says Raja Amir Khan, an environmental activist from Budgam. “The last three years have seen unchecked mining, which has halted the spring’s flow forever,” he adds.
Illegal mining to extract riverbed materials like sand, gravel and rocks has wreaked havoc across south and central Kashmir, with tributaries such as the Veshaw, Rambiara, Romushi, Doodh Ganga and the Sukh Nag—originating in the Pir Panjal mountain range—bearing the brunt. These streams, crucial for feeding local springs and sustaining the Jhelum river, are now under serious threat.
A 2022 study by the Department of Environmental Science, University of Kashmir, highlighted the ecological consequences of riverbed mining in upstream regions of the Jhelum. The study, published in The Extractive Industries and Society, found that such mining has started to change the river’s morphology and disturb the balance of its channels. It also revealed that mining had increased the water turbidity (particle load) and created sinkholes—depressions in the ground caused by dewatering and lowering of the water table.
The environmental decline is taking an economic toll. Agricultural activities dependent on these water sources for irrigation are under severe threat. In Tangmarg, a subdivision of Baramulla district, Ferozpor Nallah is a stark example of the destruction caused by illegal sand mining. “Over the past decade, this once-pristine stream has been transformed into a bombing site, with a scarred landscape,” says Syed Muzamil Shah, a Tangmarg resident. “From Lalpora to Drang Tangmarg via Kunzer, riverbed mining has halted irrigation channels, cutting off water supply to thousands of hectares” he adds. Wells that previously tapped water at a depth of 6 m now require drilling as deep as 20 m. The Jamia Nag in Tangmarg, which supplied drinking water to more than 1,000 residents, is now barren. “It was home to a thriving fish population even seven years ago. Mining has robbed the spring of its fish population,” says Muzamil Shah.
The drying up of streams has exacerbated the impacts of extreme weather events. “The valley has not received any rainfall in the past three months, and the disappearing streams have triggered severe water scarcity in the region. Streams and springs function as natural sponges, absorbing and regulating water flow. Their degradation has heightened the risks of flooding, landslides and soil erosion, posing a lasting threat to the vegetation surrounding rivers,” says Amir Khan.
Data from the Jammu and Kashmir government highlights a sharp intensification of riverbed mining in recent years, mirroring the concerns voiced by communities. During 2021-22, leaseholders extracted 0.47 million tonnes of sand and minor minerals from 37 designated blocks. By 2022-23, this figure had more than doubled, with 1.14 million tonnes extracted from 72 blocks. The surge in extraction is largely attributed to the growing demand for construction materials, driven by extensive infrastructure projects across the valley. The 2022-23 annual report from the Directorate of Geology and Mining cites several large-scale initiatives as primary contributors: the widening of national highways, the construction of the Srinagar ring road and the Delhi-Katra expressway, railway developments, projects under the Border Roads Organisation, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and the establishment of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Kashmir. The report acknowledges that these developments “imposed immense pressure on rivers.”
Riverbed mining is not new to Kashmir, but traditionally, it was a small-scale, manual affair, with workers using long shovels from boats to collect the materials. “But the recent rush has led to a massive rise in the use of heavy machinery, operating around the clock,” says Amir Khan.
This frenzy has emboldened organised mining mafias who thrive despite regulations. The Jammu and Kashmir Minor Mineral Concession, Storage, Transportation of Minerals, and Prevention of Illegal Mining Rules, 2016, prohibit mining in riverbeds below 3 m or the water level, whichever is lesser. Yet, heavy machinery has carved deep craters, some as deep as 15 m, in places like the Ferozpor Nallah and Sukh Nag. In most villages, residents claim that illegal operations continue unabated, often extending beyond the legally permissible hours of 6 pm. The rules also mandate the installation of CCTV cameras at all mining sites, but enforcement remains non-existent across the valley. “The authorities seem indifferent to the destruction caused by riverbed mining,” alleges Assadullah Rather, a resident of Barzulla, Tangmarg.
This explains the long list of litigations that have been filed and won at the National Green Tribunal (NGT). In March 2022, NGT imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Budgam’s Geology and Mining Department for causing damage to the Doodh Ganga river.
This March, NGT cancelled one mining licence for mining in Pulwama’s Romushi Nallah, a tributary of Jhelum. The tribunal uncovered a litany of violations: environmental clearances granted without mandatory replenishment studies, the use of prohibited heavy machinery and mining activities extending beyond permitted areas. Additionally, operators al-tered the natural flow of springs, exacerbating ecological damage. NGT is currently hearing a case on the illegal riverbed mining taking place at the Sukh Nag in and around Sail village in Budgam. On October 4, the tribunal ordered the setting up of a high-level committee to file a detailed report on the matter. “From the Sukh Nag alone, riverbed materials worth Rs 25-30 lakh are extracted daily, but not even Rs 1 lakh reaches the government treasury,” says Amir Khan, adding that environmental damage could exceed Rs 800 crore.
This was first published in the 16-31 December, 2024 print edition of Down To Earth