Srinagar, May 18: National Conference on Saturday expressed dismay over the transfer of 60 kanals of land to paramilitary CRPF in a suburban area of Srinagar city, saying that the buildup will affect the civilian activities in those areas.
NC general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar while censuring the incumbent Governor administration for transferring 60 Kanals of land to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said, “The urban life of Srinagar is already under duress. Services that are hallmark of the urban areas across the globe are yet to be made available to the people of Srinagar.
“The city is already facing land crunch for the development of various facilities to manage a gigantic load of solid waste. The move of transferring land to CRPF will further dent development activities including that of waste management projects in the city,” Sagar said.
He said having a massive chunk of land under security forces will inadvertently put pressure on the ecology of wetlands and lakes as people will eventually take over eco-fragile zones of Srinagar.
“The move is imprudent and is bound to affect the long-term strategy of the state government to provide for the mounting demands of the ever-growing population of the city. The move will dent the long-term efforts of the state government to make use of the urban periphery of Srinagar for civilian purposes,” Sagar said in a press release issued from party headquarters.
Terming the step as “regressive”, he said, “At a time when governments around the world are thinking of providing eco-friendly services of connectivity, housing, garbage and waste management, besides maintaining the cultural landscape of cities, our government is rather on a regressive mode. It is gobbling the already provided space for unproductive measures.”
He added that “nobody is belittling the importance of security, it is a critical aspect of our security, but the step should have been taken after taking into consideration various agencies that upkeep and look after the infrastructure and transportation of the Srinagar city.”
