A meeting of the Committee on Environment of the Legislative Assembly was held here today under the Chairmanship of legislator Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami.Legislators, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, Gulzar Ahmed Wani, Daleep Singh Parihar, Choudhary Mohammad Akram, Anjum Fazili, Devender Kumar Manyal, Mohammad Abass Wani, Mohammad Baqir Rizvi, Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, Bashir Ahmed Dar, Usman Abdul Majid, Deldan Namgial, Ishfaq Ahmed Sheikh and Pawan Kumar Gupta attended the meeting.Threadbare discussions were held on post 2014-flood measures and subsequent steps taken by the PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Department to meet exigencies effectively.The Committee directed the I&FC Chief Engineer to submit a detailed report about the measures taken by the department after 2014 deluge report about implementation of High Court directions regarding removing illegal encroachments along Nallahs.Prof. S A Ramshoo, HoD Geo Physics and Earth Science, Kashmir University and Advocate Nadeem Qazmi Environmentalist participated in the meeting as experts and gave their suggestions about how best to avoid 2014-flood like situation.
The Committee also sought a full detailed report of budget allocation for Flood Control in the State and works completed by the Department and steps being taken to complete pending works after the 2014 floods.The Committee Chairman sought cooperation from the members, experts, senior officers of concerned Departments to submit their suggestions regarding effective response to any flood like situation and to save precious human lives and loss to property.The Chairman also directed the Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control to start the dredging work on Jhelum river at Sopore and Baramulla as early as possible and asked him to visit the affected areas of Jhelum river including Rajbagh and submit a detailed report in this regard within a week’s time.He also stressed for the immediate removal of all encroachment on the Wullar Lake so as to ensure conservation of the Lake and resorting ecological balance. He also directed the Director Ecology and Environment to submit a report to the Committee about the degradation of Environment after the 2014floods.Among others, senior officers of PHE, I&FC, Environment, besides Assembly Secretariat were also present in the meeting.