Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment Choudhary Lal Singh today asked ERA to ensure time-bound completion of drainage projects in Jammu city including construction of deep drains in Channi Himmat Sector 1 and 7 and Roop Nagar. He said training of the nallahs has been taken up to avoid flooding of these localities during the rainy season. The Minister inspected the pace of work at the construction sites. MLC Charanjit Singh Khalsa, Chief Executive Officer Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) Vinod Sharma, Chief Conservator of Forests Roshan Jaggi besides other senior officers of Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) accompanied the Minister. At Channi Himmat Sector 1 and 7, the Minister directed officers to take immediate measures to evict encroachers along the nallah and its adjacent land which leads to choking of the rain water and flood the area causing loss to the public and private property . He asked the Chief Conservator of Forests to plant trees on the edge line of nallahs to beautify the area and prevent encroachments. The Minister said that several prestigious projects have been initiated by ERA which would ensure complete revamping the basic amenities for the people and result will be visible on ground very soon. Choudhary Lal Singh asked the officers to work in close synergy with other line departments so that the pace of developmental works is fast-tracked and these are completed within the shortest possible time by ensuring speedy removal of bottlenecks. The Minister said the Government is committed to develop the State on modern lines so that it comes up as one of the model States of the country. “The Government has already undertaken several welfare schemes and programmes all over the State without giving any preferential treatment to any particular area or region”, he added. Later, the Minister also convened a meeting of Divisional Forest Officers and reviewed the progress of ongoing plantation across Jammu region. Choudhary Lal Singh said that only collective efforts of the officers and people can help to restore and preserve the green gold of the State. He said planned plantation has become imperative for maintaining a balance between demand and supply and preserve the rich flora and fauna of the State for future generations. Calling for acting strictly against those who plunder the forest wealth for petty gains, the Minister said involvement of people can also help in curbing the menace of smuggling of timber and other forests products. He said the time has come to act tough against smugglers and at the same time taking measures for the restoration of the damages done to the State forests over the years.
