Dredging Irrigation Canals , Wetlands , Flood Channels 

This is the only way to prevent destruction of Karewas  & saving our Grazing land

KAREWAS have been in the news for many years now as they continue to be destroyed through massive clay mining. This illegal activity has gained momentum during the several months as the clay obtained from Karewas is used for filling low lying areas for construction of Srinagar Semi Ring Road project in Budgam , Pulwama , Srinagar districts. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has allotted the construction work to a Private Firm from Gurgaon who are excavating huge amounts of clay from the Karewas in Budgam which is causing large scale plunder of this geological treasure of Kashmir. I have written a lot on this issue for quite some time, but the situation is very serious now as the destruction is massive from the last 3 to 4 months.The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) which has tendered out this work should have explored the alternative ways to get this filling material. It seems no research has been done by them and the company executing the work.

On the other hand, local district administrations of Pulwama and Budgam including the Geology & Mining Department, State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and Pollution Control Committee (PCC) are mute spectators to this loot and plunder. Our Geological and archeological treasures are being erased and we will have nothing to showcase of our history.

The excavation was done without obtaining any Environmental Clearance (EC) from J&K State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (JK SEIAA). Even if some clearance is obtained from the Geology & Mining Department or District Administration that still violats many laws and statutes. The excavated clay is transported in huge trucks called dumpers which emits dust. This is causing severe air pollution in many villages around Pulwama and Budgam areas plus some parts of Srinagar outskirts as well. The worst affected areas in Pulwama and Budgam are Newa , Khanda, Magraypora, Kuzwera, Gowherpora , Kultreh , Nowbugh , Budgam etc. The road surfaces that were blacktopped this summer have been destroyed completely. Access to large amounts of soil for development projects is difficult in the valley because of its topography and physiology. At the highest elevation are mountain ranges that are predominantly made up of hard rocks. 

Violation of Land Revenue Act 1996 

The clay mining in Karewas emits huge dust as constant movement of trucks causes pollution. This makes people living around these areas prone to respiratory diseases. Government’s decision to allow clay mining is illegal as it violates many environmental laws like Environmental Protection Act 1986 and J&K Land Revenue Act, 1996. Section 133 A of land revenue act clearly says that topographic shape of any land which includes karewa  cannot be changed. The constant clay mining razes these highlands to the ground and changes the entire topography of the place. The activity undertaken by Ring Road construction company NKC Projects Pvt Ltd also violates the J&K Minor Mineral (Storage, Transportation of Minerals and Prevention of Illegal Mining) Rules, 2016. As per these rules, the panchayats are supposed to give their  consent for minor mineral mining. In some areas, the Sarpaches are bribed to give their consent but technically the consent has to be given after holding a Gram Sabha (village assembly) which is hardly held. In the Shali Ganga Riverbed Mining case also, consent of Sarpaches from Panzan,Ranger,Kanira villages in Budgam was obtained but they had not discussed this in the Gram Sabha meeting at all. Section 133-A of J&K Land Revenue Act samvat 1996 says that there is restriction on conversion of agricultural land and process for permission of non-agriculture (NA) use. Section 133-A reads:

“Subject to the procedure notified in sub-section (4), no land used for agriculture purposes shall be used for any non-agricultural purposes except with the permission of the District Collector.”

The Karewa land is completely agricultural land with saffron,almonds,apples,corn, wheat,oats,and mustard crops grown over this land. The land is raised to ground and even the state-land (kah charai) is plundered which is the property of the village meant for grazing animals but who cares for all this?

Section 133 A further reads:

“Provided that the permission for conversion of land notified as Saffron Belt shall be made as per procedure prescribed under the Jammu and Kashmir Saffron Act, 2007 . Provided further that holder of any agriculture land may construct a residential house or erect farm building, grain storage, primary processing of agriculture produce, wells or tanks or make any other improvements thereon for residential purpose or agricultural improvement, on intimation to the Tehsildar concerned, however, the plinth area of such building or improvement shall not exceed four hundred Square meters in total : Provided also that any attempt to convert agriculture land for non-agriculture use by contravening the aforesaid provisos by way of fragmenting the land or otherwise shall be considered violation of the provisions of this Act.”

Impacting Dairy & Sheep farming 

In many areas of Budgam and Pulwama, almonds and saffron used to be grown in good quantities in the Karewa land until 10 to 15 years back. That is not the case now. Government agencies allow bulldozing of grazing land also called Kahcharai  in Karewas first which forces people to use their proprietary land as well for this once the surrounding land is vandalized or deformed. Most of this Khahcharai land is also under the possession of local people and they get hefty amounts for selling the clay.

The people associated with clay mining and the company constructing the Srinagar Ring Road are paying a good amount of money for clay excavation and that is the reason people fall under their trap. Due to constant clay mining, we are not only losing our Karewas but we are losing the state-land, Khahchari and other types of grazing land which will have a very bad impact on our livestock especially it will impact dairy & sheep farming in the long run as villagers won’t be able to have enough fodder availability in the next 5 to 10 years. The areas where illegal clay mining is being done in Budgam & Pulwama districts on Karewa land are known for their sheep population. In summers, the sheep are sent to pasturelands with shepherds but from October to March the animals graze in Karewas, which won’t be possible in the years to come.

Solution 

For the last several decades, our wetlands, flood spill channels and irrigation canals have got choked with huge amounts of silt. The siltation of wetlands and irrigation canals is very dangerous as it is responsible for floods and is threatening the habitat of migratory birds who visit Kashmir from various central Asian countries,Eastern Europ, Russia and other colder regions. Had proper dredging been done around Hygam or Hokersar wetlands in the past, we would have used the same for filling our railway tracks in the past. The Karewas of Pattan would not have been destroyed.

Similarly, the Govt can clear the Flood Spill Channel from Kursoo Rajbagh to Narbal by dredging it and the same silt can be used to fill the Srinagar Semi Ring Road project around Narbal,Sozeth, Ranbir Garh and other areas in Srinagar city. The Semi Ring Road project is a 62 kms alternate highway that connects Pampore with Ganderbal via Budgam and Srinagar districts.

The Silt from Marvel Irrigation Canal, Jhelum,Hokersar can also be used on the same highway construction in Wathoora, Panzan,Ichgam , Soibugh, Dharmuna and other areas of Budgam. The desilting of Khurwan Sar and Shalbugh wetlands is also needed and the silt can also be used on this highway from Shadipora to Manigam areas in Ganderbal.

Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer

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