What's clouding the waters of Kashmir's Manasbal lake? 

Adnan Mumtaz (name changed), a Kashmiri boatman, reaches the shikara ghat at Manasbal Lake early each morning, ties his rented boat to a post and waits for visitors. Most days, none arrive. Adnan grew up watching his father ferry tourists across the lake. When his father grew old and fell ill, he left school after Class 8 to join him at the ghat. “I decided to leave studies and join him on the ghat,” he said.

Last week, after paying rent and maintenance costs, Adnan made a profit of just Rs 20. “It isn't enough for a cup of tea,” he said. The lake that sustains his livelihood has also become a source of concern for local communities. A recent report by the Central Pollution The The Control Board (CPCB) found that none of the seven water samples collected from Manasbal Lake and nearby sources met the Class B standard for outdoor bathing. Thousands of people, meanwhile, depend on water drawn from the lake for drinking.

What the CPCB found

A four-member CPCB team from its Chandigarh regional directorate, led by Regional Director Dr Narender Sharma, visited Manasbal Lake on April 4. Officials from the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) and the Wullar Manasbal Development Authority (WMDA) accompanied the team. The CPCB’s findings were submitted to the National Green Tribunal.

The team collected four samples from the lake, near Kondabal on the southern shore, the centre, the outlet and the point where water is extracted for municipal supply. Two samples came from springs along the lake's edge, and one from the Lar Canal.

Faecal coliform bacteria, found in the intestines of humans and warm-blooded animals, reached 780 per 100 ml (MPN) near Kondabal, where total coliform levels reached 35,000. The Lar Canal recorded the highest levels among the seven samples, with 2,200 faecal coliform and 22,000 total coliform. The municipal extraction point recorded the lowest readings among the lake and canal sites, with 45 faecal coliform and 330 total coliform. Heavy metals were largely below detection limits, except for iron in the Lar Canal, which measured 1.37 mg/l.

Under the designated use classifications, five locations fell into Class D, suitable only for wildlife and fisheries. These included all four lake sites and the Lar Canal. One spring met Class C standards, meaning its water would require conventional treatment and disinfection before drinking. The second spring did not qualify under any of the four designated classes.

Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, who brought the case before the NGT, said the findings confirmed residents' longstanding concerns. “Today it has been proven that the water of Manasbal is filthy and dirty, and this same dirty water is supplied to thousands of people," he said.

The NGT order and the response

Bhat approached the NGT's principal bench, arguing that untreated sewage from 14 villages enters Manasbal Wetland through the Lar Canal. His counsel, Advocate Rahul Chowdhary, told the Tribunal that the wetland is listed in Jammu and Kashmir's Wetlands Outside Forest and Wildlife Protected Area register and the National Wetland Atlas. He also cited a 2017 Supreme Court order in M.K. Balakrishnan versus Union of India, which directed the protection of identified wetlands.

Chowdhary presented a study of the lake's aquatic vegetation that found macrophyte growth accelerating across the water body. The study attributed this to nutrients from “domestic sewage, animal dung used by the locals for drying in the marginal peripheries of Manasbal Lake, and detergents used for washing clothes.” Kondabal, Gratabal and Jarokabal recorded the greatest diversity of aquatic plants among the sites examined. The study concluded that the lake ecosystem “is evolving at a rapid pace” under pollution pressure.

On January 30, a bench comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr A. Senthil Vel directed the CPCB and JKPCC to investigate the lake's water quality and identify pollution sources. The order stated: “The Respondent No. 2 - CPCB and Respondent No. 3 - J&KPCC are directed to ascertain the status of water quality of the wetland in question and also find out the sources of discharge of pollutants in this wetland and submit the status and action taken report at least one week before the next date of hearing.”

During its inspection, the CPCB team recorded plastic bags, bottles and mixed municipal waste along the shoreline from Safapora Gratabal towards Kondabal, with some waste partly submerged. It also found that a section of the Lar Canal had been diverted directly into the lake.

Seven villages lie along the lake's edge, including Kondabal, Chesma Manasbal, Jarokbal, Gratbal, Kharbagh and Bhagwan Mohalla. Residents and officials told the CPCB team that households managed sewage through soak pits. However, JKPCC officials reported seeing sewage flow through small surface drains during an inspection on February 17, 2026.

Cleanup work and the unresolved sewage question

The WMDA's records, submitted as an annexure to the CPCB report, detail some of the work undertaken to maintain the lake.

Dredging resumed after a gap of more than 12 years, clearing approximately 70,000 square feet to a working depth. The manual de-weeding also resumed after a two-year gap. By March 17, 2026, workers had cleared 1.60 lakh square metres of surface area at a cost of Rs 22 lakh.

The records also reveal that a sewage treatment plant remains unresolved. A detailed project report had been prepared by the Urban Environmental Engineering Department with the Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency. The authority wrote to the agency on February 9 asking for a status update, letter number CEO/WMDA/2026/1557-59. The filing's own words: "Action taken is awaited."

The CPCB report does not explain how water from the municipal extraction point is treated before reaching taps or how frequently it is tested. Bhat said the gap between lake cleaning and sewage management remained central to the case. “The government claimed a sewage treatment plant was being set up to protect the lake, but it never came up. This is criminal negligence on the part of authorities,” he said. 

Multiple sources of pollution

Boatmen, including Adnan, identify the Lar Canal, Kondabal, Hanji Mohalla and Rather Mohalla as sources of pollution. “Household grey water, sewage water and municipal waste have definitely polluted the lake,” Adnan said.

A resident living near the canal said an escape channel enters the lake at two points, carrying medicine bottles, plastic and farm chemicals.

Research has also documented nutrient pollution. A 2021 study by SKUAST-K researchers monitored six sites for 11 months and recorded total phosphorus concentrations ranging from 131 to 388.1 micrograms per litre. The paper cited a benchmark of 30 micrograms per litre, above which phosphorus can be a major trigger for eutrophication, the excessive growth of aquatic plants and algae.

Following a 1997 survey, the World Wide Fund for Nature called for sewage treatment plants and regulated lime extraction. A senior tourism official told Deccan Herald in 2017 that quarries at Kondabal had been closed.

The lake's catchment also contains lime kilns, and one sampling site lies near Kondabal, where lime is extracted. Dr Sarah Qazi, a hydrogeologist at Kashmir University, told a report on water bodies that cement and limestone mining contribute to sedimentation and groundwater contamination across Kashmir. “Poorly managed mining leads to long-term damage,” she said.

A 2022 study  published in Water Science found weeds covering almost 80 per cent of the lake. A recent review estimated its sedimentation rate at 0.44 centimetres a year. In an earlier report on Wular Lake, dredging had removed about 79 lakh cubic metres of silt since 2012, yet open water covered less than 30 square kilometres. Professor Shakil Ahmad Romshoo of the Islamic University of Science and Technology described Wular as “the valley's sink.”

Microplastics add to the pollution burden

Research has also examined plastic pollution in Manasbal Lake. Arshid Jehangir, principal investigator of a Kashmir University study conducted with the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, said the two-year project investigated “the abundance of microplastics (MPs) in sediment and water samples and factors controlling their distribution in Manasbal Lake.”

The lake's sediments “exhibit significant contamination with metals such as lead (Pb) and moderate contamination with copper (Cu) and cobalt (Co), particularly in proximity to areas with frequent human activities,” Jehangir said. He added that Manasbal had a higher microplastic pollution load than other Himalayan lakes examined, including Pangong and Tso Kar.

Toxic pollutants attached to microplastics pose “a significant risk to the biota dwelling in this freshwater system,” Jehangir said. Prolonged exposure, he added, “could potentially result in chronic toxicity effects in living organisms and human beings due to biomagnification.”

Pollution and its impact on livelihoods

For people living around Manasbal, the lake's condition affects both their income and their access to water. Fishing once supported many local families, but a 49 year old resident said catches had declined over decades. He also described the lake as “the least promoted tourist destination”.

At the ghat, boatmen pool their earnings each evening, according to Abdul Masjid Bhat, 49. On a typical day, only three or four boats find customers.

Bhat estimates that 50,000 to 60,000 people receive water drawn from the lake. He questioned whether the existing treatment measures were adequate. “Although the water supply management applies bleaching powder and pigmentation to this water, how effective can both be against the pollution levels shown in the CPCB report?” he asked. He called the situation "alarming".

The case is scheduled to return to the NGT in October. Despite the pollution findings and the challenges facing local livelihoods, Adnan remains hopeful about the lake's future. “It can still be saved,” he said.