Chief Justice, Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Badar Durrez Ahmed has called upon the Judges to pass prompt orders in accordance with the law in cases pertaining to the encroachment of wetlands and river systems.

This was stated by the Chief Justice at the inauguration of one day sensitisation programme on “Forest and Wildlife Conservation”, including Laws dealing with Birds and Wetland Conservation organized at the J&K State Judicial Academy on Sunday.

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Judges of the High Court, including Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, Justice MK Hanjura, Member, J&K State Judicial Academy, Director J&K State Judicial Academy Abdul Rashid Malik, Chief Judicial Magistrates and Munsiffs of Kashmir Province were present on the occasion.

The programme was also attended by the officers of the Forest and Wildlife Departments; Dr Pankaj Chandan, Team Leader, Western Himalayas, WWF-India. Moulika Arabhi, Advisor, Centre for Environmental Law and other dignitaries.

“We are living in paradise and it is our duty to preserve this diversity not only in Kashmir but also in Jammu and Ladakh as well. Forests are very essential. The flood of 2014 is inter-connected to what is happening around us. Wetlands are also important,” Justice Ahmed said.

He said that the Dal Lake is shrinking and the volume of its water has definitely reduced because of sewage and silt coming into the Lake. This has resulted in a complete change in biodiversity.

Snow trout population has been reduced to 10-15 per cent and overtaken by the Carp which was not native to Dal Lake but has been introduced and that changes the entire ecosystem of the Lake,” he said.

Stressing on preservation of the environment, Justice Ahmed said, “Whatever has been done has been done and whatever is left has to be preserved. As far as wetlands are concerned, I find J&K is blessed with great diversity.”

Wullar Lake has its own importance, “it is like International Airport of Migratory Birds. If the lakes disappear, birds will not come, and we cannot live on this planet.”

The Chief Justice complimented the Judicial Academy for roping in WWF and organising the programme on the critical subject of Wildlife and Forest Conservation with the special reference to Birds and Wetlands.

Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, in his address, said that the changing pace of the environment is so fast that in order to keep the law on the same wave-length either laws have to be amended quite frequently to meet the new challenges it has to be given new direction by the judicial interpretation.

Highlighting the role of the Judiciary in devising and monitoring the implementation of measures for pollution control, conservation of forests and wildlife protection, Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey said that many of these judicial interventions have been triggered by the persistent incoherence in policy-making as well as the lack of capacity-building amongst the executing agencies.

“Devices such as Public Interest Litigation (PIL) have been prominently relied upon to tackle environmental problems, and this approach has its supporters as well as critics,” he said.