Jammu, March 30: Javed Ahmad Rana on Monday informed the Legislative Assembly that ₹14,647 lakh under the Union Territory Capex have been sanctioned over the last five years for conservation and management of Wular Lake, while ₹1,073.69 lakh have been expended on Soil and Water Conservation works.
Replying to a question raised by Ali Muhammad Sagar regarding water conservation measures in the Union Territory, the Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology & Environment and Tribal Affairs said additional funding of ₹900 lakh had been sanctioned under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA), for Wular Lake during the same period.
Rana told the House that financial allocations have been made for conservation and restoration of water bodies across the Union Territory, including wetlands designated as Ramsar Sites of international importance. He said there are 1,810 identified water bodies in Jammu and Kashmir, including Dal Lake, Anchar Lake, Khushal Sar and Hokersar, in addition to Wular Lake.
The Minister outlined measures undertaken for conservation, including de-weeding of wetlands, strengthening and construction of embankments, restoration of hydrological channels, installation of trash barriers and clearance of excessive aquatic vegetation. He said steps have also been taken to address solid waste dumping around Wular Lake through closure of dumping sites, implementation of solid waste management initiatives, boundary demarcation, dredging operations, willow removal and water quality monitoring.
Rana further informed the House that the Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing wing has conducted survey and mapping of wetlands above one hectare using remote sensing data, followed by ground verification and boundary demarcation in coordination with the Revenue, Wildlife and Forest Departments. He said 170 wetlands have been GIS-corrected and uploaded in KML format on the National Wetland Portal.
According to the Minister, brief documents for six priority wetlands have been prepared, with four submitted for notification to the J&K Wetland Authority and two under technical examination. He said the mapping and documentation process would facilitate formal notification, regulation and long-term management of wetlands.
He also highlighted soil and moisture conservation works, afforestation of degraded catchments, construction of check dams and gabion structures, and promotion of sustainable land-use practices as part of integrated watershed management efforts.
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