J&K to complete wetland mapping by March-end

The Jammu and Kashmir Government announced on Tuesday that the mapping and demarcation of wetlands across the region is currently in progress and is expected to be completed by the end of March.

This response was provided by Forest Minister Javad Ahmad Rana during the Assembly session in reply to a question raised by PDP MLA Waheed Para about the measures taken for the protection and preservation of depleting wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir over the past two years.

Minister Rana explained that district wetland management units have been formed with the Deputy Commissioner concerned heading each unit following a government order issued last year. He further stated that the department has initiated the mapping of wetlands using remote sensing data, which is being followed by ground-truthing and the demarcation process. This work is being carried out in collaboration with various stakeholder departments in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions.

Rana confirmed that this mapping and demarcation exercise is currently underway and is scheduled for completion by March. As part of the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules of 2017, the district working groups have prepared brief documents for six wetlands. Of these, four are nearly finalised while the remaining two are still under examination by a technical committee.

In another query, regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the proposed road leading to the Amarnath Yatra from Baltal and Pahalgam, the government stated that the tracks leading to the holy cave have been developed in line with the Supreme Court’s orders from 2012. This follows the court’s suo moto action in response to reports of poor arrangements and several fatalities during the 2012 pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave. In December 2012, the Supreme Court had ordered several measures aimed at improving the safety and facilities for the pilgrims.

In response to the government’s response to his questions, PDP MLA Waheed Para wrote on X: “Given the ecological fragility of Jammu and Kashmir, we sought concrete details from the government on wetland protection and glacier preservation. The government’s response is vague, with no clear timelines, actionable steps, or meaningful discussion in the Assembly. On wetlands, the government offers only the consolation of adhering to the SC order from December 2024, as if the administration had no responsibility towards wetland protection before that. One must recall that there was a similar SC order for identification and protection of wetlands in 2017 also. What measures were taken under that order or beyond, during the last two years or more, remain unknown.”