Budget Session 2025: Mapping, demarcation of J&K wetlands to be completed by March: Javed Rana

Srinagar, March 04: Forest Minister Javed Ahmad Rana on Tuesday said that the mapping and demarcation of wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir are currently underway and expected to be completed by the end of March.
Rana was replying to a question of PDP MLA Waheed ur Rehman Para, the minister provided details about the steps taken by the government in the past two years for wetland conservation.
He said that the forest department, along with the revenue and wildlife departments, is carrying out the mapping exercise using remote sensing data, as per Supreme Court directives.
Rana said that this process includes ground verification and demarcation of wetlands larger than 2.25 hectares.
Rana further informed that, under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management Rules), 2017, six wetlands have been identified for conservation. Of these, the documentation for four—Ahansur-Waskursar Wetland Complex, Sanasar Lake, Khushalsar-Gilsar Lake Complex, and Anchar-Rakh-i-Kujar Complex—is nearly complete, while two others, Manasbal Lake and Narkara, are under technical review.
For the protection and preservation of wetlands, district wetland management units led by the respective deputy commissioners were established on December 19, he added.
Replying to a separate question on the environmental impact assessment of the Amarnath Yatra road from Baltal and Pahalgam, the minister said that the tracks leading to the shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas were developed in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order of December 13, 2012.