Forest Minister Javaid Ahmad Rana on Tuesday said that the mapping and demarcation of wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
In a written reply to a question by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed ur Rehman Para, who sought details on the government’s efforts to protect and preserve the region’s depleting wetlands over the past two years, Rana said, “The Forest Department has initiated the mapping of wetlands using remote sensing data, along with ground truthing and demarcation, in collaboration with revenue and wildlife departments. This is being done for wetlands above 2.25 hectares, following Supreme Court directions.”
He further mentioned that, as per the Wetlands (Conservation and Management Rules), 2017, brief documents for six wetlands have been prepared by the respective district working groups.
Among these, four wetlands—Ahansur-Waskursar Wetland Complex, Sanasar Lake, Khushalsar and Gilsar Lake, and Anchar and Rakh-i-Kujar—are nearly finalized, while documents for Manasbal Lake and Narkara remain under review by the technical committee.
Also, district wetland management units, led by the respective deputy commissioners, were established on December 19 to oversee the protection and conservation of wetlands—(KNO)
