Panel seeks report from admn on Master Plan violations in Jammu

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 29

In a major embarrassment for the administration, a parliamentary panel today raised serious concern over the Master Plan violations in the winter capital city here and sought a detailed report from the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) within a week over such violations.

The panel also expressed dissatisfaction over solid waste management system in Jammu and condition of the Tawi, while stressing on immediate removal of waste material from the river bed.

“It is quite astonishing that Jammu, which has grown manifold in terms of population and households over the years, has no proper solid waste management system in place. We have issued instructions to the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Chairman, JDA, and Commissioner, JMC, to evolve an action plan and submit a report within a week time,” Ashwani Kumar, chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, told reporters here.

He said they had been asked to evolve an action plan with regard to the state of solid waste management and implementation and enforcement of the Master Plan, which was being “violated”.

Ashwani Kumar along with other members of the committee, who reached Jammu on the final day of their five-day visit to J&K, held a meeting with the officers, representatives of civil society and NGOs here to deliberate upon core environmental issues. He also expressed dismay over the appalling condition of the Tawi, on which an artificial lake was being constructed, and stressed upon immediate removal of waste from the river bed.

The artificial lake project, however, had mired in a major controversy after the Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s statement on abandoning it half way despite the fact that a staggering amount of Rs 70 crore had already been spent on it.

The chairman asked the Commissioner, JMC, to mobilise resources for cleaning the river, adding that the preservation of water resources should be prioritised.

He also maintained that the solid waste management plan should be well envisaged and incorporated in the Master Plan to cater to the increasing population and to provide better quality of life to the people.

He said the Master Plan should be implemented strictly with special provisions of green spaces and parks, which acted as lungs of a city. “The agencies concerned have been asked to enforce the laws strictly and take measures to contain noise pollution,” he said.

Earlier, the representatives of various organisations highlighted vital environmental issues regarding deforestation, encroachments on forest lands, threat of endangered species, issues of unplanned urbanisation and inadequate solid waste management plan.