Jammu, Aug 18: Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta Wednesday promised completion of Jammu riverfront within a year.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that the chief secretary announced this while chairing a stakeholders meeting on the Development of City Biodiversity Index and Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for Jammu city at UdyogBhawan on Wednesday.
The event was organised by Jammu and Kashmir Biodiversity Council in collaboration with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia.
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network of more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development and is active in more than 125 countries.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief secretary congratulated all for the institution of the index saying that it should serve as a self-assessment tool for measurement of various ecological benchmarks.
The J&K Biodiversity Council, along with others, would help formulate the Biodiversity Index for Jammu city to help measure “ecological health” of the city.
Jammu and later Srinagar city would be one of the very first in the world to adopt the index.
Similar event has been scheduled for Srinagar city later this month.
The chief secretary said that such indices prove to be tools for smart framework of innovations and stressed that the data used should be specific, relevant and measurable.
He hailed the introduction of the index by the J&K administration and said, “Measurement is imperative to performance. Unless we measure data points, we cannot work towards improvement in any aspect.”
Mehta said that the index needs to be made comprehensible and acceptable to the public, who constitute the majority of the stakeholders.
He called life a gift of nature and said that only a city with a healthy ecosystem could sustain all life forms.
Mehta urged upon the Biodiversity Council to learn from similar indices from cities around the world and implement them according to local viability and acceptability.
He also called upon other departments and independent bodies to play an active role in addressing ecological issues of the region.
The chief secretary directed routine measurement and publicity of air and water quality index of prominent tourist spots of J&K.
He called for creating awareness about local species of flora and fauna through literature and other means.
Mehta asked for prompt disposal of forest-related cases.
He directed the Forest department to develop 75 treks all over J&K as part of the ‘AzadiKaAmrutMahotsav’ including development of forest rest houses.
It was directed that the department present a strategy and action plan for quick restoration of degraded forests of J&K. Bio-fencing of wetlands and constitution of eco-clubs was also called for by the Chief Secretary.
Mehta assured that the administration was wholeheartedly investing in development of a riverfront project at Jammu and that it would be completed over a period of one year.
Commissioner Secretary, Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, SanjeevVerma also spoke on the occasion.
Programme Coordinator, MonalisaSen from ICLEI South Asia conducted a one-day workshop for all DFOs, members of J&K Biodiversity Council, NGOs and students.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Biodiversity Council, Mohit Gera; Director SFRI and Additional PCCF, Asif MehmoodSagar; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Raghav Langer were also present on the occasion.