Jammu, February 13 Jammu and Kashmir Forest Minister Javed Rana on Friday said the government will intensify efforts to strengthen forest conservation, biodiversity protection, and eco-tourism across the Union territory in the coming fiscal year.
Concluding the discussion in the Assembly on the grant demands for the forest, ecology and environment, public health engineering, irrigation, and flood control, as well as tribal affairs departments, the minister announced that one crore saplings will be planted with active community participation during the next financial year.
Other key initiatives include completing the survey and demarcation of forest areas, identifying and developing new forest trekking routes and eco-huts, and promoting eco-tourism in designated 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 the revival of Wular Lake, a Ramsar site, in north Kashmir's Bandipora district, with 5 sq km dredged and 2,952 hectares reforested, has benefited 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 be carbon positive, with air quality improvement measures resulting in a 18.5 per cent reduction in PM10 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 a 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, 71.77 million saplings have been planted by January 2026. 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, the digitization 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 finalized.
The coming fiscal will also witness the completion of SASCI projects, the installation of sensor-based air quality monitoring systems, the upgradation of the Jammu Zoo, the establishment of conservation breeding centres for endangered species, and the creation of wildlife protection infrastructure to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, the minister said.
