Jammu and Kashmir accelerates green campus model and Urban Challenge Fund projects

Commissioner Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, Mandeep Kaur, inspected the Sher‑e‑Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir’s (SKUAST‑K) green campus. The visit highlighted the university’s zero‑waste model, rainwater harvesting, sewage‑treatment plants and plastic‑waste management, and officials discussed replicating these practices in other government projects across the region.

Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired a meeting of the H&UDD to review urban infrastructure proposals for the Government of India’s Urban Challenge Fund. Four projects were shortlisted: revitalisation of the Walled City and Nigeen lakefront, the TARANG Tawi Area Regeneration and Green Growth Project, Lidder Riverfront Development in Anantnag, and KRIPA Katra Revitalisation. The combined estimated cost is roughly ₹1,990 crore, with central assistance of about ₹496 crore, an UT share of ₹486 crore and around ₹1,008 crore to be raised through market financing. The initiatives aim to boost sustainable urban growth, tourism, and public services in Jammu and Kashmir.