SRINAGAR: South Asia’s largest fresh water lake, Lake Wullar of Srinagar, has shrunk in area from 130 sq km to 24 sq km due to extensive encroachments in the past few decades. Noting this, the Jammu and Kashmir government has formulated a Joint Action Committee (JAC) to re-verify the boundaries of the lake.
The government has asked the Wullar Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA), Revenue and Forest Departments to re-verify the boundaries of Wullar to ascertain the encroachments for a time-bound recovery.
“We have been asked to submit a report on encroachments within 20 days, as the residents have established permanent structures at various places in the Wullar Lake,” said an official, who is part of the committee.
The government had allocated a fund of Rs 120 crore for the conservation of the lake back in 2011. However, only Rs 60 crore was released out of which Rs 45 crore were spent on erecting 1,159 geo-tagged boundary pillars, delineating the lake boundary from the adjoining areas.