* Says UT leads in achieving 75 Amrit Sarovars
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 25: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today chaired an interactive session with entrepreneurs and investors at the Civil Secretariat here. The meeting was aimed at addressing the issues and concerns faced by the industrial sector in the Union Territory.
During the meeting, several important issues were raised and discussed, including land use and allotment, infrastructure development, power, departmental clearances, legal issues, and other related concerns. Chief Secretary assured the participants of full support from the UT government and issued appropriate directions to resolve several issues.
The session also highlighted the hand-holding measures and incentives being provided to the industries in Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr Mehta assured that the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway would shortly be set open for round the year traffic thereby resolving several logistical issues faced by industries. He assured the industrialists from the Kashmir region that the government would take necessary steps to ensure that trucks carrying perishable items are able to move to their destinations smoothly without undue hindrances.
Chief Secretary called for conducting similar meetings every month to address the grievances of the industries in the UT.
Besides industrialists, the meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Prashant Goyal; Principal Secretary Power Development, H Rajesh Prasad; Secretary Revenue, Dr Piyush Singhla; Managing Director, JPDCL, Shiv Anant Tayal; MD KPDCL, Ch Mohd Yasin; Managing Director, SIDCO/SICOP and Senior Officers from Jammu and Kashmir provinces, virtually and in person.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary expressed confidence that India is more than capable of achieving its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2070 and said that it is high time we shifted away from fossil fuels and made alternate sources our main energy providers. He was speaking at a workshop organised by the Jammu & Kashmir Pollution Control Committee here at the Convention Centre.
The interactive workshop ‘Climate Change Mitigation and Green Financing for a Climate Resilient and Carbon Neutral J&K’ was attended by Dr.Mohit Gera, PCCF (HoFF), J&K Forest Department and Chairman, J&K Pollution Control Committee; Dr. Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, Vice Chancellor, Islamic University, Kashmir; HoDs of Forest Department, Dr. Ravindranath, renowned IPCC Author, and resource persons from MoEFCC, TERI, Earnest and Young Climate, World Resources Institute of India besides other eminent guests and environment experts.
Dr. Mehta appreciated the efforts of the Pollution Control Committee and Jammu & Kashmir Forest Department for organizing deliberations on Net Zero Carbon by 2070. He informed that J&K has already made a model by developing a climate resilient and carbon neutral Panchayat of village Palliin District Samba which is first of its kind in the country.
According to Dr Mehta, Jammu & Kashmir has always been at the forefront of adopting flagship developmental schemes of the government. ‘The distinction of implementing the 75 Amrit Sarovars in each district amongst first in the entire country is a good example of how well J&K can adapt to the needs of the times with cooperation from its citizens. Similarly, schemes like “Har Gaon Hariyali”, “One Beat Guard, One village Program”, “Van Se Jal, Jal Se Jeevan” have been very effective in building in resilience and adaptation at village level.
J&K has been a leader in adopting transformative steps in the overhaul of sports, agriculture, and tourism sectors in recent years. The Chief Secretary stated that we are planting more trees every year than ever before and this year over one and half crore trees are going to be planted again all over J&K.
The Chief Secretary stressed the importance of communicating climate change adaptation measures to the masses in a way that creates a genuine connection with them. To achieve this goal, the Chief Secretary emphasized the need to communicate with the public at all levels, including panchayats, in ways that creates public ownership.
Dr Mohit Gera, PCCF (HoFF) and Chairman, J&K Pollution Control Committee spoke in detail on purpose of workshop, likely strategies and action plan for building in resilience in Union Territory in view of vulnerability of Jammu and Kashmir. He also highlighted role of Forest sector in mitigation of climate and how forests are supporting Agriculture, Horticulture and Tourism from perspective of climate change and adaptation.
Prof. N.H Ravindranath, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru made introductory remarks on the topic “India’s Policies and Commitments” and Dr. Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, Vice chancellor, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora, Kashmir highlighted the likely Impacts of Climate Change and Vulnerability of J&K.
Dr. S. Satpathy, Director (Retd.), Climate Change Division, MOEF&CC, Govt. of India made a detailed presentation on “Climate Actions at National and Sub- National level for J&K” while Mr. Amit Kumar, Associate Partner Ernest & Young India LLP made presentation on the topic “Green Financing for mitigation and adaptation”.
Jayakumar Chelton, NGO Thanal, Kerala shared his experience as a success story on the topic “Transition of villages to Net Zero- Meenangadi, Kerala Experience”.
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