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Plan for holding special Gram Sabhas under ‘Catch the Rain’ programme finalised at Sgr

April 5, 2021

SRINAGAR, APRIL 05: A meeting to hold special Gram Sabhas under ‘Catch the Rain’ initiative on 7th of April was held today under the

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Director Agriculture pitches for promotion of innovative farming for high returns Visits farmers’ fields at Shamachak, Kanachak, Jhiri of Misriwala Zone

April 5, 2021

Nidae Kashmir

JAMMU, APRIL 05: Launching Intensive Farmers’ Outreach Initiative, Director Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare, Jammu, K.K Sharma conducted field visit in Misriwala zone today

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MP Kunwar Danish Ali calls on Lt Governor

April 5, 2021

Nidae Kashmir

SRINAGAR, APRIL 05: Member Parliament (Lok Sabha) Amroha, Kunwar Danish Ali today called on Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha here at Raj Bhavan. The MP

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JK reports 442 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

April 5, 2021

Nidae Kashmir

Srinagar: 442 new positive cases have been reported since yesterday, 162 from Jammu Division and 280 from Kashmir Division. Moreover 241 more COVID-19 patients

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Six people were injured in fresh attacks by dogs In Kupwara Villages

April 5, 2021

Nidae Kashmir

Srinagar, April 5: Six more people including two women and a middle-aged man were injured in fresh attacks by dogs at Dardapora Lolab and

Srinagar: Setting aside grave environmental concerns, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has set the ball rolling to transfer hundreds of hectares of eco-fragile forest land for the construction of the strategic Ujh multipurpose project in the Jammu region. The geography-altering project is being constructed at a cost of Rs 9,167 crore on Ujh, a tributary of the Ravi river, for which 4,350 hectares of land has been identified by the J&K administration in Jammu’s Kathua district. “The project has got Stage 1 clearance. We (forest department) will divert over 680 hectares of land while the rest is state and private land,” said chief conservator of forests (CCF), Jammu, K. Ramesh Kumar. Officials said more than 621 hectares of the forest land being diverted and over 3000 hectares of the total land being acquired for the project would be submerged by the 116-metre high dam that is going to be built near Kathua’s Deoli village. Besides, over two lakh trees have been marked by field officers in Billawar, Kathua and Samba forest divisions that will be axed to pave way for the ambitious project, the government of India’s forest advisory committee noted last year in a report. The Ujh project has three components – hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water. According to officials, the project will generate 212 MWs hydropower, irrigate 31380 hectares of agricultural land and provide 20 cusecs drinking water for Kathua and Samba districts. Also read: Environment Ministry Defers Clearance To Ken-Betwa Interlinking Project Dam ‘Disaster in making’ In a report, the J&K government told the Centre that 44% of the Ujh project’s catchment area of 14,14,700 hectares in the Billawar division falls under the “high erosion category” which will increase sedimentation in the river. “It is not good for hydropower generation. Due to high sedimentation, there will be an increase in siltation in the dam,” said professor R.K. Ganjoo, who is a professor at the Department of Geology at the University of Jammu. “Siltation shrinks water holding capacity of a dam, besides potentially damaging main turbines. Salal power project (also in J&K) faced similar problems because of which it has now almost become defunct,” added Ganjoo. In case of a breach in the dam, a report of the Centre’s Expert Appraisal Committee notes, there will be “little reaction time for executing any rescue plan” as the high water level will affect 18 km area downstream. The Ujh project, which was declared as a ‘national project’ in 2008, will affect 52 villages, displacing over 3700 families comprising of over 28000 members, according to the 2011 Census. Two villages – Dharalta and Dungara – are going to be fully submerged. The project will not only uproot human habitations but also intrude into the eco-fragile forests. It falls within 10 km of Jasrota National Park, home to some of the critically endangered species of animals such as Indian Fox, Jungle Cat and Leopard which are listed in Schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act. Despite this, the expert appraisal committee recommended the grant of environmental clearance for the project, asking the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment to submit plans for wildlife conservation, muck management, local area development plan, etc. Also read: Hydropower Projects in Jammu and Kashmir Fast-Tracked by India “There will be ecological and micro-climate changes due to the denuding of forests. In the coming years, people will face a lot of problems during summer. Besides the loss of forest cover, it will also gravely impact wildlife,” said Professor Avtar Singh from the Department of Geology/Remote Sensing & GIS at the University of Jammu. ‘Revenue loss’ In October last year, the J&K high court castigated the forest department for shrinking forest cover in the Union territory “due to encroachments and illegal cutting of trees but the concerned authorities have failed to take urgent steps to check the prevailing situation.” In February this year, a Supreme Court nominated committee pegged the cost of each tree with a lifespan of 100 years at Rs 75 lakh, given the benefits to nature and mankind, including the cost of oxygen it would emit into the air. Asked about the apex court committee’s assessment, CCF Kumar prevaricated, “Compensatory afforestation amount is mandatory to be paid by the user agency before obtaining final approval of forest land diversion.” “The cost of land has been fixed at Rs 8 lakh per hectare. Once we get the payment, we will write to the central government for Stage 2 clearance,” he added. However, a senior officer in the forest department said the compensatory afforestation for the project was calculated on the basis of the market rate of timber, “Besides the market value of land, the user agency is supposed to pay double the cost of the timber.” More than two lakh trees are set to be axed in the newly created Union territory which is rapidly losing forest land to non-forest activities, said social activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat. “We can’t afford to build more and more dams when the outcome is not environmental friendly in the longer run. Hydropower may be clean energy, but to set up these

Breaking News·Kashmir·Recent News

Setting Aside Environmental Concerns, J&K Govt Clears Transfer of Land for Ujh Project

April 5, 2021

Nidae Kashmir

Srinagar: Setting aside grave environmental concerns, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has set the ball rolling to transfer hundreds of hectares of eco-fragile forest land

Breaking News - Page 394

Plan for holding special Gram Sabhas under ‘Catch the Rain’ programme finalised at Sgr

Director Agriculture pitches for promotion of innovative farming for high returns Visits farmers’ fields at Shamachak, Kanachak, Jhiri of Misriwala Zone

MP Kunwar Danish Ali calls on Lt Governor

JK reports 442 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

Six people were injured in fresh attacks by dogs In Kupwara Villages

Setting Aside Environmental Concerns, J&K Govt Clears Transfer of Land for Ujh Project

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