Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology, Chaudhary Lal Singh today said that preservation of endangered Hangul (Kashmir deer) was highest priority for his Department.Speaking to a delegation of ‘Kashmir Hangul Expedition 2016’ Mr. Singh said that conservation of biodiversity with special reference to Hangul at Dachigam National Park is being taken up very seriously and Government would do anything to protect the State animal.The delegation led by Bittu Saghal, founder and Editor of Sanctuary Asia- a leading wildlife magazine, discussed various issues with the Forest Minister. They apprised the Minister over the challenges of protecting the wildlife in the State forests. They demanded that the Government should make policies over protecting and preserving the forests and wildlife across the State.Mr. Singh told the delegation that he has directed officials that there shouldn’t be any compromise on the protection of wildlife, environment and ecology across the State. “When we can’t compromise on quality of our life, why should we be insensitive toward wildlife, our environment and ecology,” Mr Singh said. He said that his Department has launched a drive against encroachers who are destroying the forest land. “We won’t allow anyone to encroach into the forest land,” Singh said.
Mr. Singh said that the place is vital for habitation of the Hangul and disturbing it won’t be tolerated at any cost. He said that protecting Hangul and its habitation was highest priority for the Government.The Minister informed the delegation that for preservation and safety of Hangul, the Government has submitted a project report of Rs. 25.72 crore to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for approval.He said the plan provides conservation, completion of construction and maintenance of conservation Breeding Centre as well as other provisions like veterinarian, research fellows, plan, training and Red Deer breeding expertise consultancy etc.The other members of delegation were Author and Conservationist, Bikram Grewal, Country Director Earth-Day network, India, Karuna Singh, Coordinator Earth-Day network, Neela Majumdar, Coordinator, Sanctuary Asia, Cara Tejpal, Convener, Environment Policy Park, Faiz Bakhsi, Chairman Wildlife Conservation Fund, Muhammad Shafi Bacha and Environment Lawyer, Nadeem Qadri.The delegation hailed the Minister for starting a process of land demarcation into the wildlife and forest areas.
They also lauded the Minister for coming heavily on the encroachers and stopping the wildlife from getting compromised.The Minister told the delegation that he has ordered closure of soil and stone extraction works in the area, directing officials to keep an eye on the industrialists over violating norms of Wildlife Protection Act.It may be noted here, Hangul is the only Asiatic survivor of the red deer specie, which was declared a critically engendered species in the Red List of The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in 1996 and also listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to which India is a signatory. Mr. Singh said conservation of the State animal (Hangul) was a priority for government.