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Agricultural activities to be permitted in Pong wetland this year: Sukhu
Sukhu was replying to a question from Hoshiyar Singh (independent) and supplementary questions from Bhawani Singh Pathania (Congress) and Vipin Parmar (Bharatiya Janata Party)
Agricultural activities will be permitted in the Pong Dam wetland this year as it has not been declared an eco-sensitive zone so far, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday.
The chief minister said this during question hour in the Vidhan Sabha. He was replying to a question from Hoshiyar Singh (independent) and supplementary questions from Bhawani Singh Pathania (Congress) and Vipin Parmar (Bharatiya Janata Party).
“Discussions would be held and suggestions of MLAs of assembly constituencies concerned would be taken before issuing the notification of declaring Pong Dam an eco-sensitive zone,” the chief minister added.
The government was trying to exclude some areas from the wetland, but the relevant laws are stringent and before declaring the area an eco-sensitive zone, a notification declaring it a wildlife sanctuary would be issued, he added.
It is a serious issue and the government is aware of the MLAs’ concerns. Deliberations will soon be held on the issue. The MLAs can also write to the principal chief conservator of forests, Sukhu said.
He noted there has been a drop in tourist arrivals due to natural calamities and non-issue of permits for boating in the past one-and-a-half years. Instructions have been issued to the tourism department to issue permits for boating, he said.
An income of ₹8,81,680 was accrued from ticket window, boating and rest houses in 2021-22 and it came down to ₹2,16,810 in 2022-23. Till January 15, 2024, an income of ₹2,36,150 had been generated, he added.
While there are no tigers in the Pong Dam area, 1,10,309 birds of 110 species arrived in Pong Dam in 2021-22, about 1,17,022 birds of 108 species arrived in 2022-23 and 83,555 birds of 86 species arrived in 2023-24, according to Sukhu.
Industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan told the Vidhan Sabha that work on 138 schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission is yet to be completed and the state government has asked for ₹2,000 crore from the Centre.
Replying to a question, Chauhan said 1,163 schemes were sanctioned in the past three years and an allocation of ₹2,470.21 crore was approved.
