JAMMU, JULY 17: NHRC Special Monitor (Environment, Climate Change and Human Rights) Vidya Bhushan Kumar today held a consultative meeting with representatives of NGOs and civil society groups based in Jammu.
The meeting, held at the district headquarters, was convened as part of the Special Monitor’s ongoing district-level assessments undertaken across the country to examine environmental concerns through a human rights lens and recommend corrective measures to the government.
The Tawi river is vital to Jammu and its adjoining areas, Vidya Bhushan Kumar said, calling for strict measures to keep it clean. Environmental degradation affects all sections of society, he observed, but its burden falls heaviest on the poor and vulnerable. He said the purpose of his visit was to gather ground-level facts and recommend measures to the government to ensure a healthy and dignified environment for all citizens, and stressed the need to spread awareness about welfare schemes so their benefits reach every eligible person.
The Special Monitor termed plastic pollution a major challenge and called upon NGOs and local organisations to identify and develop plastic-free zones, beginning with small, sustained steps to change public habits. Most of the waste can be converted into a valuable resource through better recycling and reuse practices, he said.
The Jammu Municipal Corporation was directed to intensify public awareness campaigns and hold open discussions on the issue, officers concerned to identify sites of illegal garbage dumping and cordon them off with barricades, and construction agencies engaged in road and infrastructure projects to strictly comply with dust-control norms to curb air pollution.
Officers from government bodies, including Social Forestry Department and Jammu Municipal Corporation, shared the activities being undertaken for environmental protection, waste disposal and afforestation. Feedback and inputs from local residents and representatives of NGOs and social organisations were also noted by the Special Monitor.
Kumar urged citizens to plant more trees, take up voluntary clean-up campaigns and adopt personal responsibility in reducing waste.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Vidhu Shekhar thanked the Special Monitor and assured him of the district administration’s full cooperation in implementing the measures suggested.
Among those present were Executive Engineer, Jal Shakti Department (Kathua), Rajiv Sharma, Joint Commissioner JMC Abdul Sattar and Assistant Commissioner General (ACG) Sania Haq Khan.
