Jammu and Kashmir Government to Revive Tulbul Navigation Project and Chenab Water Lifting Scheme

Key facts

• Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister (CM) Omar Abdullah announced the revival of the Tulbul Navigation Project (TNP) and a project to lift water from the Chenab river near Akhnoor for Jammu city.
• The TNP, also known as the Wular Barrage, involves a 135-metre long and 12-metre wide lock-and-control structure at the confluence of the Jhelum river and Wular lake in Sopore.
• The project is designed to store 30,000 acre-feet of water during high-discharge periods to maintain uniform water levels for year-round navigation in the Jhelum river.
• Construction of the TNP originally commenced in 1984 but was suspended in 1989 following objections from Pakistan regarding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and the eruption of militancy.
• The Government of India put the IWT in abeyance in May 2025 following a terror attack in Pahalgam and a subsequent four-day conflict under Operation Sindoor.
• The J&K government had previously launched the ₹389-crore centrally sponsored Wular Conservation Project in 2010 to increase the lake's water-holding capacity and promote tourism and fisheries.
• The proposed barrage in the Ningli neighbourhood of Sopore functions as a hydraulic structure combining a river control dam with a navigation lock.