STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: A Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Tashi Rabstan on Thursday granted two weeks’ time to file status report in a Public Interest Litigation seeking demolition or removal of the encroachments on the water bodies / wetland reserves failing which Commissioner/ Secretary Forest and Environment Department was directed to appear in person on 7th April, 2016.
In the PIL, petitioners Rattan Singh and others had submitted after the state witnessed floods in 2014 environmentalists had blamed encroachment of the wetlands in the State especially in the Valley as the main reason for the devastation of life and property.
The petitioners further stated that notwithstanding the fact that wetlands play an important role in preventing ecological catastrophe, majority of the marsh lands are not receiving any attention in J and K resulting into their continuous shrinking and making the state more prone to the disasters like the recent one which caused massive devastation. The height of the insensitivity towards this vital aspect can be gauged from the fact that no particular department has so far been assigned the task of conversion and preservation of these wetlands.
As per the NWIA total area of the State of J and K is about 2, 22,236 Sq. Kms and about 3651 wetlands having wetland area of 391501 Hectares and 222111 Sq.Kms of geographic area of wetlands exist in J and K.
Some of the wetlands like Surinsar, Mansar lakes , Hokersar, Wular Lake and Tsomoriri have been included in the list of wetlands of international importance under Ramsar convention.
Three wetlands Suriansar Mansar Lakes, Wular Lake and Sobrari have been included in the Prime Minister’s Construction Package. Inspite of their inclusion in the Ramsar Convention and Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Package the area of such wetland are decreasing day by day due to the encroachment and other allied factors.
