Early Times Report BANDIPORA, Feb 16: Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, Indu Kanwal Chib, today chaired a meeting to review and deliberate upon the Environment Management Plan (EMP) of KGHEP and to discuss related measures, DPRs, and inter-departmental coordination mechanisms. During the meeting, detailed deliberations were held on the Site Sustainability Analysis of Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) structures in District Bandipora under the 'Catch the Rain' programme, which forms a crucial component of environmental management and water resource conservation. The Deputy Commissioner emphasized the importance of rainwater harvesting in addressing water scarcity affecting people, livestock, and the agriculture sector. She stressed the need for optimal utilization of available funds and directed concerned departments to ensure timely execution of works so that identified projects are completed well before the onset of the monsoon season. The meeting reviewed the inventory of existing rainwater harvesting structures, including farm ponds, field bunds, and other water conservation assets across the district. Threadbare discussions were also held on land use and land cover classification of the district, covering agricultural cropland, plantation areas, built-up areas, fallow land, forests, grasslands, scrubland, snow-covered areas, wastelands, and waterbodies. It was informed that a total of 220 sites have been proposed for the creation of new water harvesting structures in accordance with IMSD guidelines. The Deputy Commissioner directed that proper ground-truthing of all proposed sites be undertaken to ensure technical feasibility, suitability, and long-term sustainability. She further instructed the Department of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing (DEERS) to submit relevant data from the NRSC Bhuvan portal for comprehensive analysis and monitoring. |