EPG Marks 11 Years of 2014 Floods, Warns of Unabated Vulnerability in Jammu Kashmir

SRINAGAR: On the eleventh anniversary of the devastating 2014 floods, the Environmental Policy Group (EPG) today paid tribute to the resilience of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, while cautioning that the region remains as vulnerable as it was more than a decade ago.

The group extended condolences to families who lost loved ones in the tragedy and saluted the courage of those who rebuilt their lives despite what it described as continued official inaction on long-term flood prevention and mitigation.

Recalling its legal intervention after the disaster, EPG said it had filed a Public Interest Litigation (EPG vs Union of India and Others) before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, naming 16 departments of the Union and J&K Governments as respondents. The petition had sought measures to increase the carrying capacity of the Jhelum and conserve its associated wetlands. While the court had issued several landmark orders, EPG said implementation remained piecemeal and cosmetic.

The September 2014 floods, among the worst natural calamities in the region’s history, caused widespread destruction—wiping out villages, hospitals, bridges and critical infrastructure. In Jammu too, homes, roads, and farmlands were ravaged. A decade later, EPG said, neither Kashmir nor Jammu has a comprehensive strategy in place to prevent a repeat of the catastrophe.

“The present vulnerability is not merely natural but the consequence of decades of human-induced degradation,” the group said, citing unchecked deforestation, illegal construction, heavy mechanised riverbed mining, and encroachments on wetlands as factors that have stripped the Valley of its natural flood-absorbing capacity.

It noted that Wular Lake, historically the largest flood absorption basin, has lost nearly a third of its storage capacity to siltation and encroachment. Wetlands such as Hokersar, Haigam, Shallabugh, Mirgund, and Narakara Nambal have been encroached upon or degraded, eroding their role as natural sponges during heavy rainfall.

The group emphasised that the failure to restore the carrying capacity of the Jhelum, flood spill channels and wetlands had inflicted recurring damage on life, agriculture, horticulture, and businesses, causing trauma to communities even after brief spells of rain.

EPG called for immediate, scientific and continuous dredging of the Jhelum, preceded by satellite-based surveys and sediment transport studies, with ecological safeguards in place. It warned that earlier dredging attempts had been “shoddy and incomplete,” leaving the river’s hydraulic gradient unaddressed.

Equally urgent, it said, was the revival of Srinagar’s historic flood spill channel, repair of fragile embankments, and modernisation of outdated urban drainage systems which currently fail to handle even moderate rainfall.

On this anniversary, EPG also paid tribute to the “brave youth who, through fearless and heroic acts, rescued, sheltered and saved tens of thousands of people” during the 2014 floods.

The group said it has been compiling ground reports on the recent floods, which it will submit to the High Court of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh next week when its PIL comes up for hearing. Last month, it had submitted expert recommendations on flood remediation to the court, in line with its mandate.

EPG reaffirmed its commitment to pursuing the matter in court and through public advocacy, pledging to continue pressing for scientific, transparent and community-driven solutions. “The people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve safety, not fear,” the group said, urging the administration to honour both the spirit and the letter of the High Court’s directions issued since 2014.

It added that it would soon hold a seminar of experts and submit further recommendations to the Government for necessary action.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Monday took serious note of the emerging flood crisis in the Valley, during the hearing of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) titled Environmental Policy Group (EPG) v. Union of India & Others.

The Division Bench, led by the Chief Justice, examined a six-page urgent report submitted by EPG Convenor Faiz Bakshi. The report, presented before the Court by Advocate Nadeem Qadri, Amicus Curiae in the matter, raised grave concerns over preparedness, flood-control measures, and the risks to life, property, and the fragile ecology of Kashmir.

Taking cognisance of these concerns, the Court directed the Commissioner/Secretary of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, the Commissioner/Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, and the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir to appear personally before the Bench in a special hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The government was also asked to take urgent steps and file a comprehensive Action Taken Report (ATR). The matter has been listed for further consideration on September 9.

In his written report, Bakshi came down heavily on the administration, stating that “the government is clueless on the way forward.” He added, “Those who are competent and qualified to decide the future course of action are neither empowered nor listened to, while those who are empowered but not qualified are not inclined to act.”

The report urged an immediate halt to land allotments, transfers, and construction in wetland areas, warning that unchecked encroachments were compounding the Valley’s vulnerability to floods. It specifically called for a ban on projects like Rakh Arth, Transworld University, and IIM Srinagar, and recommended that no land be allotted for government buildings or other facilities without first confirming that it was not part of a waterbody.

Bakshi stressed that conservation of natural flood basins and wetlands was critical to avoiding a repeat of the devastation of September 2014. “Till the government decides on a clear strategy, any allocation, sale, transfer of land, or construction within 500 metres of wetlands must be stopped immediately,” the report stated.

Looking ahead, the EPG proposed a shift towards long-term flood moderation. Bakshi recommended creating small storage in every basin and sub-basin to regulate water flow. These mini-dams, he suggested, could be paired with solar power to build hybrid pumped storage systems. “Therein lies the answer to our two main woes — flood and power — in that order,” he noted.

The Court’s intervention is being seen as a significant step to ensure accountability and push the administration towards concrete action. For millions of residents of the Valley, still haunted by memories of the 2014 floods, the hearing has raised hopes that judicial oversight may finally compel the government to act decisively to protect lives, property, and the environment.