SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has approved 33 proposals involving the diversion of 51.501 hectares of forest land for developmental projects in the Uri constituency during the financial years 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27, the Legislative Assembly was informed.
The disclosure came in response to an unstarred question by MLA Uri Sajjad Shafi, who sought details on alleged damage to forests and farmland caused by government and private construction projects in the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region.
The Forest, Ecology and Environment Department said the proposals had been cleared in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Abhiniyam and related rules. The approved projects include works of the Jal Shakti Department, the Border Roads Organisation and the Uri-II Stage-II hydroelectric project.
The department said developmental projects were undertaken in the public interest and were subject to statutory environmental safeguards, with conditions and compensatory measures prescribed to minimise and mitigate the environmental impact of forest-land diversion.
Under the applicable forest-conservation provisions, equivalent non-forest land or State forest land is provided for compensatory afforestation by the user agency. Where such land is unavailable, the department said, compensatory afforestation is undertaken over double the area of degraded forest land.
The government said compensatory afforestation plans are designed both to offset the diverted forest area and to improve the ecological condition of identified sites through restoration and protection measures. The expenditure is borne by the respective user agencies or companies.
A provision of 1,000 plants per hectare, along with 10 years of maintenance, has been made to support the establishment and survival of plantations.
The department further said project agencies are required to provide funds, wherever applicable, for measures including compensatory afforestation, slope stabilisation, muck disposal, wildlife mitigation, Catchment Area Treatment plans and biodiversity management plans.
In addition to these statutory measures, project agencies may undertake environmental activities or provide funds under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, the government said.
The department also said it had undertaken compensatory, mitigation-oriented and strip plantation activities in areas adjoining developmental and hydroelectric projects in Uri, wherever feasible, through schemes including CAPEX and CAMPA, with the aim of increasing green cover and reducing the environmental impact of development works.
Among the projects listed in the government response is the Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri road section, for which 20.9352 hectares of forest land was diverted. The response also lists the Uri-I Stage-II hydroelectric project, along with several water-supply schemes in the Boniyar and Uri areas.
For the projects listed in the compensatory afforestation details, the department has identified plantation and compensatory afforestation sites and corresponding areas under the approved plans.
