Will urge Centre to reduce Pong Dam eco-sensitive zone area: Himachal CM Sukhvinder Sukhu

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, December 22

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today assured the Assembly that the government would urge the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to reduce the area included in the eco-sensitive zone of the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary. He was responding to a calling attention notice of Hoshiyar Singh, Independent MLA from Dehra, over the issue.

Airport project will displace people

• Pawan Kajal, BJP MLA from Kangra urged the government to give up the Gaggal airport expansion project as it would lead to the displacement of a large number of people from the area and affect their livelihood
• The expansion of the Gaggal airport is essential for the economic development of the entire lower region of Himachal. It will promote tourism not only in Kangra district but also in adjoining districts of Hamirpur, Mandi and Chamba, said Sukhu
• Since Himachal has only two main resources (tourism and hydropower), the expansion of the Kangra airport is important, the CM said

Hoshiyar Singh said that it was callousness on the part of the state Forest Department not to raise objections to the draft notification for declaring a 1 km area around the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary as an eco-sensitive zone. On the one hand, the government was making announcements of promoting tourism in the Pong Dam lake, on the other, all kinds of commercial activities were proposed to be banned in the 1 km area around it, as per the notification of the Union Ministry of Environment, he added.

He said that the people of the area were earlier displaced due to the construction of the Pong Dam. Now, they would again suffer as around 51 villages of Kangra would be included in the eco-sensitive zone, he added.

The Chief Minister said that the government was concerned about the livelihood of the people of the Pong Dam area and would take appropriate measures to address the issue. He asked the MLAs of the affected region to submit their objections till December 28 so that these could be taken up with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest. The Union Ministry had issued a draft notification declaring a 1 km area from the boundaries of the Pong Dam sanctuary in Kangra district as an eco-sensitive zone.

As per the draft notification, in the eco-sensitive zone around the sanctuary, commercial activity, including the construction of hotels, resorts or any polluting industry would not be allowed. The draft notification also prohibits setting up of electric or communication towers in the eco-sensitive zone. The establishment of saw mills and brick-kilns or the commercial use of firewood would also be banned in the area.

While responding to another calling attention motion moved by Pawan Kajal, BJP MLA from Kangra, the Chief Minister said that the government would provide the best possible relief and rehabilitation package to the people of the Gaggal area in Kangra district who would be affected due to the expansion of the airport.