Administrator chairs
second meeting of the UT Wetland Authority
SUKHNA LAKE TO BE
DECLARED AS WETLAND UNDER WETLAND (CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT) RULE 2017
Vinay Kumar
Chandigarh
The Second
Meeting of the Union Territory of Chandigarh Wetlands Authority was held today
under the Chairpersonship of Shri V.P. Singh Badnore, Governor of Punjab &
Administrator, UT Chandigarh at Punjab Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh. It has been
unanimously decided to declare Sukhna Lake as Wetland under Wetland
(Conservation and Management) Rule 2017. Besides officers of Chandigarh
Administration, representative of Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate
Change, GOI and representative from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun,
Officers from Haryana and Punjab were also invited as Special Invitees. Sh. V.
P. Singh Badnore emphasized on the ecological importance of declaring Sukhna as
a Wetland. He urged the Officers, representing Govt. of Punjab and Govt.
of Haryana to join hands with UT Administration Chandigarh in the effort to
conserve Sukhna Lake since State of Haryana and Punjab are also beneficiaries
of this effort. Sh. Debendra Dalai, IFS, Chief Conservator of Forests, UT
Chandigarh made a detailed Presentation on the ecological role of wetland,
boundary delineation of Sukhna Wetland spreading over 565 acres and catchment
area of Sukhna Wetland spreading over 10395 Acres as finalized by Survey of
India that includes 2525 acres of Haryana and 684 acres of Punjab as
well. He also made a detailed presentation on the recommendations of the
Technical Committee enlisting the activities to be prohibited/ regulated/
promoted both in the Wetland as well as in the Catchment areas. The activities
proposed to be prohibited/ regulated/ promoted as recommended by the Technical
Committee were unanimously agreed by all the members present. After detailed
deliberation and discussions, it has been decided to declare Sukhna Lake
comprising 565 acres as Wetland under Wetlands (Conservation and Management)
Rules, 2017 and catchment area falling within the jurisdiction of UT Chandigarh
as Zone of Influence, after following due process of law. It was
further decided that since the part of the catchment areas also falls within
the administrative boundary of Haryana & Punjab, a request shall be made to
Govt. of Haryana and Punjab to take similar action to regulate the activities
as prohibited/ regulated/ promoted in their respective part of the Sukhna
Catchment which is essential for maintaining proper health of the Sukhna
Wetland. The meeting was attended by Sh. Manoj Parida, IAS, Adviser to the
Administrator, UT Chandigarh, Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, Principal Secretary
(Environment & Forests), UT, Sh. Ajoy Kumar Sinha, IAS, Finance Secretary,
UT, Sh. Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary (Forests), Govt. of
Punjab, Sh. Alok Nigam, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary (Forests), Govt.
of Haryana, Sh.V.S. Tanwar, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests,
Haryana, Sh. C.D. Singh, IFS, Additional Director General (Central), Ministry
of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, NRO, Chandigarh and other
officers.
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