Jammu, Oct 31:  In its renewed effort to give a major push to eco-tourism in J&K, government has identified around 16,000 sq km land under Protected Area Network (PAN) to execute the eco-tourism development plan afresh in the state, provided it gets nod from the centre.
 The plan, to mention, had failed to take off two years back as the proposal submitted in this regard by the state government was rejected by the centre on the grounds that it did not meet the set guidelines of the Union Tourism Ministry.
 The central government, according to sources, had instructed the state to submit the site-specific proposal. “The earlier proposal based on a survey conducted by Jungle Lodges and Resorts, a Karnataka-based company in 2008, was rejected by the centre forcing the state government to restart the entire process afresh,” sources said.
 According to the sources the area identified under the fresh survey included five national parks, 14 wildlife sanctuaries and 35 conservation reserves across the length and breadth of the state.
 Sources said a detailed project plan would be sent to the Union Tourism Ministry for the approval and funds for the development of the required infrastructure.
 “We have notified the area and a detailed report is being sent to the centre for securing necessary clearance,” confirmed Deepak Kapoor, who heads the eco-tourism development project in J&K.
 “If the plan is accepted, facilities such as construction of huts, nature trails, treks, view points, safari drive and nature interpretation centre will be created in the identified areas,” he explained.
 Officials privy to the issue said the identified areas included Dachigam, Gulmarg, Thaj   reserve and Aru in Kashmir division and Nandni reserve, Ramanagar sanctuary and Jasrotia sanctuary in Jammu region. While in Ladakh, Hemis High Altitude national park, Changthang wildlife sanctuary, Tso Moriri, Tsokar and Pangong Tso have been ticked for showcasing as eco-tourism destinations.  “We are soon holding a meeting with the Tourism Department wherein a detailed report to be submitted to the central government will be discussed,” official said.
 At present, J&K is lagging far behind in eco-tourism, especially when compared with other states like West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Punjab which manage to attract thousands of nature lovers every year.
 According to official figures forest area constitutes 50.97 per cent in the total geographical area in Kashmir while in Jammu it is 45.89 percent.
In Ladakh, it stands at 0.06 per cent making the average forest area in  the state to 19.95 per cent.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 31 Oct 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 1 Nov 2010 00:00:00 IST