Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 8: Commis-sioner Secretary, Forest, Environment and Ecology Department, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi today said that the conservation and management of Wular Lake is a priority of the Government and external funding is being explored for this purpose.
He held these views during a review meeting in which scope of work under various components of conservation and management was discussed.
The meeting was attended by the Chief Executive Officer, J&K ERA, Avny Lawasa, Dr. Mohit Gera, PCCF, Sidhartha Kumar, Director Social Forestry, T Rabi Kumar, CCF Central, Parveen Kumar Ragav, Special Secrtary, (Technical) and Parvaiz Ahmad Handoo, Director Planning, Forest and other officers.
During the meeting, the possibility of external funding was discussed with CEO, J&K ERA for the efficient conservation and management of this internationally important wetland designated as Ramsar Site by UNESCO.
It was said in the meeting that J&K ERA will assist the Forest Department in getting the comprehensive DPR prepared through domain expert consultant agency as per the templates accepted by these external funding agencies. The J&K ERA will also get in touch with the funding agencies like World Bank, ADB and JICA for letting the Government know their interest in this important project.
It was given out in the meeting that the department is addressing 3 square kilometer of critically silted area of the lake. It was further said that 27 square kilometer of the total 130 square kilometer Lake area requires intervention like uprooting of willow trees, dredging of land mass of the silted area to ensure that the lake is restored to its pristine glory.
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