NOCs issued after due scrutiny: Rana
The Jammu and Kashmir Government has stated that No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for construction of residential houses are issued only after thorough scrutiny and field verification, in strict adherence to prescribed norms and statutory provisions.
This was stated by Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Javed Ahmed Rana in the House on Saturday while replying to a question raised by legislator Altaf Ahmad Wani.
The minister said that between January 2024 and December 2025, the office of the Wildlife Warden, South Division, Anantnag, received a total of 349 applications for issuance of NOCs for construction of residential houses from bona fide local residents. He added that these applications were forwarded by the Pahalgam Development Authority, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pahalgam and Block Development Officer Pahalgam, and after due scrutiny and field verification, NOCs were issued in 346 cases.
Regarding empanelled employees, the minister stated that the Wildlife Department has a total of 517 empanelled employees and workers across various divisions of Jammu and Kashmir engaged in the protection, conservation and management of wildlife resources. He said salaries and wages of all empanelled employees are being disbursed on time and that no arrears are pending.
With regard to funding, the government said that for the financial year 2025–26, the Wildlife Department has been allocated funds under various schemes, adding that Rs 8,575.71 lakh has been allotted under CAPEX, Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and CAMPA.
The government also clarified that there is no proposal under consideration in the Revenue Department regarding relaxation of Change of Land Use (CLU) norms. The minister said the government does not intend to grant any relaxation in respect of change of land use at present, nor is there any proposal to exempt rural areas from existing CLU provisions.
It further stated that there is no proposal under consideration to reduce prescribed fees or ease formalities related to change of land use.
Legislators Vikram Randhawa, Rajiv Jasrotia and R S Pathania raised supplementary questions on the issue.
