J-K to intensify forest conservation, plant 1 crore saplings in 2026-27: Minister

Jammu, Feb 13 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Forest Minister Javed Rana on Friday said the government will scale up efforts to strengthen forest conservation, biodiversity protection and eco-tourism across the Union territory in the coming fiscal.

Winding up the discussion in the Assembly on the demand for grants for forest, ecology and environment, public health engineering, irrigation and flood control, and tribal affairs departments, the minister announced that one crore saplings will be planted with active community participation during the next financial year.

The other key initiatives include completion of survey and demarcation of forest areas, identification and development of new forest trek routes and eco-huts, and promotion of eco-tourism in identified locations through local involvement, the minister said.

Maintaining that wetland conservation remains a priority with 260 wetlands mapped using GIS and remote sensing, the minister said revival of Wular Lake, a Ramsar site, in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district with 5 sq km dredged and 2,952 hectares afforested, has benefitted more than 5,200 fishermen.

Rana highlighted that wildlife conservation measures have covered 11.5 per cent of the UT's area, with more than 3,000 animals rescued and Rs 214 crore compensation disbursed for human-wildlife conflict.

The minister also claimed that J-K continues to remain carbon positive, with air quality improvement measures resulting in PM10 reduction of 18.5 per cent in Jammu and 41.3 per cent in Srinagar.

For the 2026-27 fiscal, an enhanced allocation of Rs 242 crore has been proposed, reflecting strong commitment towards conservation and sustainable development, Rana said.

Under UT Capex 202-26, Rs 168.18 crore has been approved, of which Rs 141.14 crore has been released and works worth Rs 56.97 crore have already been executed, Rana said, adding that against approved allocations of Rs 175.06 crore under CAMPA, Rs 155.14 crore has been released.

“Under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative, plantation of 71.77 lakh saplings till January 2026 has been achieved. In 2026-27, one crore saplings will be planted with active public participation,” the minister said.

Rana also said that significant progress has been made in forest demarcation with 1.85 lakh boundary pillars installed.

Besides, digitisation of forest boundaries using the global navigation satellite system technology has positioned J-K as a pioneer in advanced forest governance, the minister claimed.

He also said that third-party certification frameworks have reduced procedural delays while maintaining environmental safeguards.

On recruitment and promotion, Rana said the processes have been fast-tracked, with multiple department promotion committee (DPC) meetings convened and a significant number of promotions finalised.

The coming fiscal will also witness the completion of SASCI projects, installation of sensor-based air quality monitoring systems, upgradation of the Jambu Zoo, establishment of conservation breeding centres for endangered species and creation of wildlife protection infrastructure to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, the minister said. PTI TAS ARI