The Department of Environment, Ecology and Remote Sensing under the overall administrative control of Forest Department was created in Jammu and Kashmir in the year 1987 with the sole objective to check degradation of environment caused by varied factors by formulating a comprehensive Environment Policy. Forest Department being of primary importance in preserving environment, State of Environment Report (SoER), which otherwise was due to be released early last year as per the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest has not been released so far. Actually the guidelines for preparing the report were conveyed by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Cooperation and involvement of several agencies in helping the Government formulate Environment Policy are to be solicited. The Technical Committee has passed on the buck to a sub-committee which has not been able to respond till date. There are no two opinions about the fact that Kashmir being a world-renowned tourist destination should enjoy clean environment and ecology. As such right functionality of the concerned agencies mentioned above is of primary importance. Although the sub-committee has not so far reported on the matter but even if it prepares the draft Environment Policy today, it will take time to obtain views, rationalize contradictions and finally approve a policy which the Government will formally accept.
We expect the Government to cut short the long route of formalities and come down straight to the fundamentals of maintaining purity of environment and thus make interim policy till it is able to grapple with its nuances in full.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel