Conservation work

Recently Chief Secretary, chaired a meeting of the Forest, Ecology & Environment Department to assess its functioning besides reviewing the progress on ongoing conservation measures for protection of lakes and wetlands in the Union Territory.

Regarding Wular Lake conservation, the Chief Secretary instructed both the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and the Commissioner Secretary, Forests to personally visit the site. They were asked to review the status of the ongoing conservation works and devise a mechanism to accelerate their execution. He observed that Wular Lake, being Asia’s largest freshwater lake, necessitates urgent and effective conservation measures and has a scope of attracting a large number of tourists.

Regarding the conservation of Kishtwar High Altitude National Park, the Chief Secretary emphasized the need for increased manpower and furthering efforts to achieve tangible results. He pointed out that the scale of work required exceeds the current workforce, necessitating moving of additional resources on the ground for meeting the objectives set for its mitigation.

He stressed the early approval and implementation of the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) in coordination with other departments. He instructed for formation of an inter-departmental coordination panel responsible for ensuring smooth execution of the plan by aligning available funds with the envisioned schemes.