Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 4: In suppression of its earlier order, Government of Jammu and Kashmir has constituted a committee for creation of land bank of suitable non-forest land for compensatory afforestation in lieu of forest land diverted for non-forest purposes under Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.
Headed by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & HoFF, J&K, the committee shall identify Revenue lands/Gair Mumkin Jhaad/Gair Mumkin Jungle/Gair Mumkin Pahari/Banjar Kadim/ Gair Mumkin Khad etc and any other waste land, areas falling in wildlife corridors, areas falling in and around the Protected Areas (PAs) and Eco-Senstive Zones (ESZ), habitat of rare, threatened and endangered species of flora and fauna located in the areas not under direct administrative and management control of the J&K Forest and J&K Wildlife Protection Department, areas falling in catchment areas of important rivers, water supply schemes, irrigation projects, hydro-electric projects etc for inclusion in the proposed land bank for compensatory afforestation.
The committee shall also give preference to such lands, during identification, as are abutting forest, those with potential for city forest/green spaces and valuable land susceptible to encroachment which should be preserved as green lungs for the habitation.
To ensure that the land identified is encumberance-free and suitable for afforestation, the seven-member committee shall forward the recommendations along with all requisite revenue papers and kmz files of the land parcels to the Forest, Ecology and Environment Department and Revenue Department for the creation of the proposed land bank.
Further, the committee shall integrate the requisite data with Gati Shakti for easier planning and collaboration and furnish monthly report to Department of Forest, Ecology & Environment by 5th of every month.
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