SRINAGAR: Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary informed the House that the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) has imposed a moratorium on the establishment and registration of new air-polluting industries in Khrew (Pulwama) and Khonmoh (Srinagar) for two years since 2021.
The Deputy Chief Minister was responding to a question raised by Hasnain Masoodi in the Legislative Assembly.
He said that the order was reviewed by the Committee on December 20, 2023, and, as per its decision dated January 1, 2024, the moratorium shall remain in force only for cement plants, stone crushers, brick kilns, mining operations, and hot mix plants until the annual average Air Quality Index (AQI) falls below 100 or the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) score drops below 60. He assured that necessary measures would be taken to regularly monitor the ambient air quality in Khrew and Khonmoh.
The Deputy Chief Minister also informed the House that all three plants of Jammu & Kashmir Cements Ltd. (JKCL) have been non-operational since 2019 due to inadequate power supply, leading to frequent interruptions and significant production losses. He added that the plants suffered from a lack of proper maintenance, resulting in frequent breakdowns, and were further affected by events such as the 2014 floods, the unrest in 2016, and the COVID-19 lockdown in 2019. These factors, coupled with heavy financial losses, led to the complete shutdown of operations.
He further said that JKCL is currently undergoing disinvestment. The Administrative Council of the Union Territory of J&K, through its decision No. 113/15/2021 dated October 19, 2021, gave in-principle approval for the complete sale of JKCL and its assets on an “as-is, where-is” basis through strategic disinvestment and e-auctioning by qualified bidders.
Regarding employee welfare, the Deputy Chief Minister mentioned that pensionary benefits for retired JKCL employees have been worked out and incorporated into the revised budgetary provisions for the financial year 2024-25. He also confirmed that the benefits of the 6th Pay Commission have been implemented for the employees.
