Srinagar, Mar 04: Forest Minister Javaid Ahmad Rana on Tuesday said that the mapping and demarcation of wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
In a written reply to a question by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed ur Rehman Para, Rana said, “The Forest Department has initiated the mapping of wetlands using remote sensing data, along with ground truthing and demarcation, in collaboration with revenue and wildlife departments. This is being done for wetlands above 2.25 hectares, following Supreme Court directions.”
He further mentioned that, as per the Wetlands (Conservation and Management Rules), 2017, brief documents for six wetlands have been prepared by the respective district working groups.
Among these, four wetlands—Ahansur-Waskursar Wetland Complex, Sanasar Lake, Khushalsar and Gilsar Lake, and Anchar and Rakh-i-Kujar—are nearly finalized, while documents for Manasbal Lake and Narkara remain under review by the technical committee.
Also, district wetland management units, led by the respective deputy commissioners, were established on December 19 to oversee the protection and conservation of wetlands.
The department of wildlife protection looks after 10 other wetlands in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions. These included Hokersar, Shallabugh, Hygam, Mirgund, Chatllalum, Kranchoo, Manibugh, Freshkoori in Kashmir, and Surinsar-Mansar and Gharana wetlands in the Jammu division.
In a recent meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, it was revealed that the demarcation of the 84 km long Wular boundary has been completed with geo-tagged Boundary Pillars. Out of 44 Km of bund consolidation in encroachment-prone peripheral areas, 11 km have been completed with a dredging of 5 sq km of critically silted area to date.