Two-Month Deadline Set for Forest Land Demarcation in Jammu Division
Jammu, KNT: Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar has directed the Revenue and Forest departments to complete the demarcation of forest lands across Jammu Division within two months, officials said.
The directions were issued during a meeting chaired by the Divisional Commissioner to review the progress of forest land demarcation and discuss issues hampering the exercise.
Chief Conservator of Forests, Jammu, Senthil Kumar, informed the meeting that out of 1,555 forest areas in Jammu Division, around 215 had been identified as difficult forests requiring joint surveys by the Forest and Revenue departments, officials said.
He further informed that around 24,000 boundary pillars were required to be installed in these forest areas, while nearly 25,000 boundary pillars had already been installed during the past three months.
The Divisional Commissioner directed the Revenue and Forest authorities to undertake joint demarcation of the forest lands on priority and ensure proper installation of boundary pillars after completion of the demarcation.
He also directed the concerned officers to finalize a district-wise schedule within one week in consultation with the Divisional Forest Officers and Revenue officers.
The schedule will indicate the areas to be covered, field teams, officers responsible for the exercise, Range Officers and dates for field work, officials said.
The Divisional Commissioner further directed all Deputy Commissioners and Divisional Forest Officers to ensure strict adherence to the two-month deadline.
The meeting also reviewed forest-land issues related to roads and other infrastructure projects. The concerned officers were directed to expedite cases involving alternate land and transfer proposals and take up pending matters with the concerned Deputy Commissioners.
The Divisional Forest Officers were also directed to provide necessary assistance to departments dealing with infrastructure projects for timely processing of cases on the PARIVESH portal. [KNT]
