Govt taking steps to promote eco-tourism in J&K

The Union Ministry of Tourism has asked the state government to submit a fresh eco-tourism development plan,before funds could be released for the development of this sector in J-K.

The Union Ministry of Tourism has asked the state government to submit a fresh eco-tourism development plan,before funds could be released for the development of this sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to sources,it has rejected the earlier proposal prepared by Karnataka based company Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd,by saying that it wants site specific proposals,as per the guidelines of the ministry and earlier report has not covered the full requirements of the project. Sources said that it has further delayed the ambitious project of the government to boost the tourism sector in the state.

The department has now again started the work on the project,while senior officials are being sent to other parts of the country to understand how the eco-tourism sector is being managed. Earlier proposal had identified 12 places in Jammu region,Kashmir valley and Ladhak region,but only six hold any prospect of creating infrastructure for the promotion of eco-tourism.

When contacted,Chief Wildlife warden,AK Srivastava said,they want site specific information as per the guidelines of the government and we are working on fresh proposal. There was nothing wrong in earlier plan. Srivastava said that department has again approached the Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd to prepare fresh proposal so that work is started on the project.

The new report will be prepared in next two months and a Rs 6 crore proposal to the central government to start the first phase of work for the project has been submitted and work will start soon,Warden said.

J&K has 16,000 sq km under the Protected Area Network (PAN),forming 15.6 per cent of the total geographical area of the state comprising 5 national parks,14 wildlife sanctuaries and 35 conservation reserves and the plan was to create different facilities which include huts,tent accommodation,nature trails,trekking tracks and view points.

Apart from this wildlife department had proposal to build bird watching sites and organise safari drive in the identified areas.

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Chief Conservator of Forest (Eco-Tourism),Deepak Khanna said,after the new directive I had personally visited Uttrakhand and other states where the eco-tourism projects are running successfully. We are studying the all the aspects before work will start on the project.

It is pertinent to mention here that Forest Minister,Mian Altaf Ahmed has recently reviewed the different projects on which the work is underway in the state,including managing the man-animal conflict in Jammu and Kashmir which has shown an increased trend in past decade. State government has also approached the Environment ministry to release funds for the centrally sponsored schemes,but so far no draft proposal has been prepared.

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