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 . Choudhary Lal Singh 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.He appealed the people to extend full cooperation to the executing agencies and play an active role in making government’s programmes and schemes a success.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.“ERA should convene regular meetings with other departments to get the requisite feedback about ongoing works besides removing any hindrances which may occur so that these developmental initiatives are completed in time bound manner” he added. He said special focus should also be laid on maintaining quality of work and holding regular checks about the material being used, he maintained.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 said instructions have already been passed to the concerned to ensure that transparency and accountability is maintained in every domain of governance and implementation of various welfare programmes so that these are made need and area based in consonance with the requirements of the people”, he added.Later, the Minister also convened a meeting of Divisional Forest Forests 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.The Minister directed the officers to extract matured trees of Bamboos and other plants and distribute these among the people as they can use the same for construction purposes. He said that people should be made aware about the uses of various species grown at the community sites so that they could get the benefit and in return cooperate with the department for upkeep of compartments.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.