Srinagar, Dec 9, (KDC): The ambitious ₹7.71 crore Northern Foreshore Road (NFR) beautification project along Dal Lake has effectively collapsed midway after an independent third-party inspection uncovered serious violations, prompting the Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) to issue a final notice to the Gujarat-based contractor for breaching contractual conditions and supplying substandard material.
Documents accessed by Kashmir Dot Com reveal that LCMA had awarded the tender to Classic Foundation, Ahmedabad, for design selection and conceptualisation, supply, packaging, forwarding, installation, testing and commissioning of programmable aerators and fountains along several locations of the NFR stretch. The contract, worth ₹771 lakh, was allotted on negotiated techno-commercial terms, with strict specifications governing material quality, inspection, supply quantities and payment. Under the payment terms, sixty percent of the amount was to be released only after verification of the supplied material by a departmental committee and subsequently by an independent third party, which in this case was the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar.
The LCMA Internal Committee, constituted on February 20, 2024, physically inspected the items delivered by the firm and detected major discrepancies. According to the notice, “As per the report, the specifications of distribution pipes for chasing jet nozzles and mist fog nozzles are found as per Schedule 5S instead of 40S and the thickness of the M.S. float pipes found varied from 5.0mm to 8.7mm measured by using ultrasonic thickness measuring devices.”
The notice further records that, “As per inspection reports of NIT Srinagar and the Internal Committee, the items viz: Float Pipes, Distribution Pipe network for both Chasing Jet and Mist Fog Nozzles, Fountain Cables are not conforming to the specifications as laid down in the allotment order and such action amounts to violation of the contractual provisions and deviation from the approved specifications, thereby compromising the quality and authenticity of the project work.” The firm was directed in writing, “You are advised to replace the items not conforming to the specifications as mentioned in the allotment order.”
NIT Srinagar, acting as the third-party evaluator, submitted detailed reports on October 14, 2024, December 2, 2024, and January 10, 2025, reaffirming the findings of inadequate quality and significant shortfall in supplied quantities.
LCMA’s communication states, “Against the requirement of 650 Chasing Jet Nozzles, only 390 were found on site and 130 of the chasing jet nozzles were fitted at the cluster.” It adds, “Against 650 of Mist Fog Nozzles, only 390 were found on site and only 130 were fitted.”
Sources said this mismatch in quantities, combined with material not matching the prescribed specifications, raised alarms about the integrity of the project, which was designed to enhance oxygenation and aesthetic elements along the Dal Lake frontage.
As the discrepancies mounted and the contractor failed to meet even the basic rectification requirements, the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD) convened a high-level meeting on October 28, 2025. The review meeting, chaired by the Secretary HUDD and attended by the Vice Chairman LCMA, senior engineers of the authority and experts from NIT Srinagar, focused on the “third party report and observations thereof” and the reasons behind the prolonged halt of the project.
Meanwhile, LCMA served a final notice to the contractor on October 22, 2025, highlighting its prolonged absence from the project site and its failure to respond to departmental communications. The notice states, “There has been no response from you, either to complete the project or otherwise, despite holding several meetings.”
It further notes, “Seemingly it appears that you are not interested in executing the project, as such you yourself violated the terms and conditions of the allotment order.” The authority observed that, “The reason for your cold response can be inferred from the fact that none of your representatives is available at site to make any headway to complete the project.”
The communication stresses that the delay has “not only delayed the project but also wasted the essence of implementation of conservation measures of the Dal Lake.” LCMA concluded its notice with a warning that, “On the basis of your non-serious approach, LCMA is constrained to invoke the penal provisions of the allotment orders which can involve foreclosure of work at your risk and cost, forfeiting your financial securities available with the authority, besides blacklisting and debarring your firm for future participation in the authority.”
The final show-cause notice, issued on 22 October, had explicitly directed the firm to resume the stalled work within seven days and to furnish a formal reply within 30 days. That period has long expired, and yet, as of December 9, the project remains in a static, frozen condition with no movement from the company and no visible intervention from the administrative side to push for immediate remedial action or initiate punitive measures.
Speaking to Kashmir Dot Com, Vice Chairman LCMA, Manzoor Ahmad Qadri, confirmed the contractor’s persistent non-compliance and failure to make any effort to rectify the violations. He said, “The Company in-question has neither replaced the material, which was rejected by the third party NIT Srinagar, nor has it responded to the show cause notice issued to them so far.” When asked about the next steps, Qadri added, “We will see what will be next course of action from our side.”
The prolonged inaction has left one of Kashmir’s most publicised beautification and conservation-linked initiatives completely derailed, raising sharp questions about enforcement, oversight and accountability. As things stand, the project is stranded mid-way, its equipment under dispute, its timelines in ruins, and its future uncertain. (KDC)
