Srinagar, May 22: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has directed the government authorities to preserve and ensure an encroachment-free Nambal Narkara, a semi-urban wetland of Kashmir facing an existential crisis because of encroachments and pollution.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal while hearing a public interest petition directed the official respondents “to ensure that the water body mentioned above is preserved and maintained properly and no encroachment of the same takes place”.
The PIL had been filed by the residents of Peerbagh and Hyderpora through advocate Arshad Andrabi.
Narkara, the semi-urban wetland situated eight kilometres away from Srinagar city centre once used to be an important wetland area of Kashmir. The wetland, according to experts, has shrunk from 22.63 sq Km in 1965 to five sq Km in 2016.
A mafia allegedly comprising some Revenue department officials and influential real estate dealers has affected the vanishing of this important biodiversity center of the central district of Budgam.
The wetland has been reduced to a pond struggling not to lose its importance as a biodiversity hive, a water bird habitat and flood mitigation zone.
According to a 2020 report by the Indian Journal of Waste Management, the wetland has now been reduced to 3.25 sq Km.
Due to relentless encroachments, a considerable amount of marshy area of the wetland has been converted into the solid land mass, which is then sold by the land mafia at very high rates for residential purposes.
The wetland once used to be a favourite habitat site for a number of waterfowl species like Grelag goose, Ruddy shelduck, Pintail, Common teal, Mallard, Gadwal, Wigeon, Shoveller and Tufted duck. It also hosted a number of fish species and other fauna and flora.
The petitioners sought a court commandment to the respondents to take steps for preservation and conservation of this important water-body by removing encroachments from its edges and constructing a ring road/green patch along its sides.
They prayed in their PIL for connectivity between Nadirgund-Gulshanabad-Laloosheeshgarhi Bagh-Gangbug by constructing a link road, walkway and cycle track under one project after taking into consideration the actual dimensions of the land and technical feasibility.
The petitioners had earlier also filed a writ petition in public interest and the same was disposed of by this court vide order dated 13.03.2024 by directing that the representation submitted by the petitioners therein to the Chief Secretary to Government, U T of J&K be disposed of expeditiously preferably within a period of four weeks.
The grievance projected by the petitioners in the petition is that there was a proposal for construction of a “Cycle Track/Walkway” on the top of the Bund linking the villages around the wetland. They said in their petition that the track is only 6 ½ ft. in width and simultaneously, the Public Works Department has also announced the construction of the link road from Peerbagh to Gangbugon, the top of the Bund, which is only 6 ½ ft. wide, to relieve the pressure of traffic on the Airport Road.
BOTTOM
