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SANT KUMAR SHARMA
New Delhi, Dec 7: The rehabilitation of Dal and Nagin lakes can be done only if Rs 654 crore are made available by the Central government. The sum includes an amount of Rs 356 crore required as cost of resettlement and rehabilitation of families living on the twin lakes.
An amount of Rs 298.76 crore was sanctioned in September 2005 under the National Lake Conservation Programme (NLCP) for this project. Mr Saif-ud-Din Soz had lobbied hard for getting the project included in the Prime Minister’s Rehabilitation Plan (PMRP).
Doubts, however, persist about the second and larger component of Rs 356 crore being sought by the state government. The officials of the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) argue that without this grant, conservation efforts are bound to fail.
A team of experts from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, will have technical review of the progress made so far on the project. So far, three sewage treatment plants (STPs) have been set up at Hazratbal, Habak and Laam with a combined capacity of handling 36.7 MLD of water.
Work is on at Brari Numbal and Telbal nala and according to official estimates, a sum of Rs 170 crore is required for completing the works by March 2010, as originally envisaged.
A couple of days ago, a Central government press release said that the cost of resettlement and rehabilitation is outside the scope of the Dal lake conservation project. The project of Rs 298.76 crore is fully funded by the Central government but the Planning Commission is reluctant to bear the additional burden of Rs 356 crore being sought by the state.
A tug-of-war of sorts is now on between the state government and the Central agencies responsible for funding the projects in Jammu & Kashmir.
Some days ago, the Tourism Minister of J&K, Mr Nawang Rigzin Jora, had visited the Mansar and Saruinsar lakes in the Jammu region. Ambitious plans are being prepared through development authorities to develop these lakes as tourist destinations.
Some tourism department officials in Jammu alleged that these projects were being given a step-motherly treatment both by the state and the Central government. A virtual pauper, the state government has time and again failed to take up the projects in Jammu on priority, they added.
An official said that by next summer, some lakes located on the famous Mughal Road linking Poonch to Shopian will also become more easily accessible to tourists. At that time, funds will be needed to develop infrastructure near these lakes for boosting tourism in these areas. Paucity of funds is likely to be a big impediment in doing so, they felt.
Due to militancy that engulfed the higher reaches of Poonch and Rajouri, tourism to these areas has touched its nadir. Places like the beautiful Aharbal falls, located north of the Pir Panjals, also became virtually out of bounds for the tourists.
Reviving the interest of tourists in these offbeat destinations, on the Mughal Road axis, is likely to be an uphill task for the state government. Many lakes located south of Pir Panjal in the Jammu region are totally free of contamination and can attract trekkers from all over the world, an IFS official said.
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