Seeks policy review to privilege Environment protection over Infrastructure.
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The Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) J&K has expressed doubts on the rationale behind proposed Srinagar-Tral- Pahalgam road project on the ground of “massive environmental damage by making inroads into dense forest areas between Tral and Pahalgam ranges and felling of hundreds of forest trees”.
In a statement issued here today the GCC said the proposed project is also likely to seriously damage the geologically important fossil belt in and around Khrew and the aquifers in Pashtuna , Mandakpal area causing water scarcity in many villages. ” A thorough environmental impact assessment ( EIA ) MUST precede any action on the DPR. The Government should meanwhile undertake much-needed improvement of the two existing Srinagar–Pahalgam roads, in particular the Bijbehara- Langanbal segment which requires widening “.
Further, GCC cautioned the Government against the “policy of giving infrastructure development in J&K blanket preference unmindful of the likely damage to environment and ecology. ” Important issues are also arising in the wake of project proposals on new rail routes in the Valley. The Government better avoid jump at the prospect of connectivity without conducting EIAs and without considering the loss of agriculture and orchard lands and consequent impact on the rural economy. It is hoped the elected Government will tread cautiously taking all stakes on board “.
GCC is a non-
political collective of retired civil servants, academics and professionals belonging to Jammu and Kashmir whose main objective is to bring issues of public interest and importance into public domain and to the notice of the concerned authorities for appropriate action.
