J&K fails to submit status report on 3 wetlands before NGT

Jammu and Kashmir government failed to file status report in a petition relating to state’s three wetlands including Hokersar, Wular and Kreentchoo-Chandhara, before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), New Delhi on Monday.

The case relating to encroachment and dumping of waste inthe three wetlands of Kashmir, was listed at serial number 16. However, it wasadjourned to September 3, after state authorities failed to submit their reportbefore it.

   

In April this year, the NGT had ordered Jammu and KashmirState Pollution Control Board, Department of Wildlife Protection, DeputyCommissioners of Budgam, Srinagar and Bandipora to constitute a “committee(that) may also look into the issue of encroachment of the water bodies inaddition to dumping of waste.”

The petition was filed by RTI activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat.

Environmental lawyer, Sharon Mathew dealing with the case,while talking to Greater Kashmir over phone from New Delhi said: “It has beenpushed another two more months to September. What’s happening is that the rateat which wetlands are decomposing or deteriorating is very rapid”.

Researcher and environmentalist Prof. Shakeel Ahmad Romshoo,while expressing his dismay over the failure of state to present its report,said: “Here the government treats wetlands as wastelands.

Whenever there is a requirement for infrastructure ordevelopmental projects, so the first causality is the wetlands. They startfilling it up and ultimately erect the infrastructure”.

Romshoo added as far as question of action plan for wetlandsis concerned, “we have 3650 wetlands and water bodies in the state. And we havefour Ramsar sites. We don’t have action plan for any of these wetlands andwater bodies. The priority should have been to restore them. We should haveprepared the action plan for all of these wetlands and water bodies”.

Romshoo said that the government should have learnt lessonsby the 2014 devastating floods.

“One of the main reasons of flooding of Srinagar in 2014 wasbecause of the shrinking and loss of carrying capacity of these wetlands…Thesewetlands used to act as sponge during floods and they used to save built upareas, towns from flooding. It seems authorities haven’t learnt a lesson from2014 deluge. We continue to disregard these wetlands,” said Romshoo.

RTI activist, Bhat said despite passing of three and a halfmonths authorities’ failure to submit their report reflect their “nonseriousness”.

Meanwhile, Chief Wildlife Warden Kashmir region, RashidNaqash said: “We have already submitted compliance report to the NGT on 17th  of this month. Let me check why thisreport hasn’t reached over there.”

An official from PCB also claimed that report has beensubmitted before the NGT.

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