A multi-purpose hydro-electricity project- Ujh is coming up in the Kathua district of Jammu Kashmir. At least 214,502 trees are being cut for this purpose.
As per a report published by Hindustan Times, The project is envisaged on river Ujh, which is a tributary of River Ravi that flows into Pakistan and is part of the Indus river basin system. The project will include the construction of a 116m-high concrete face rock-fill dam (CFRD) and power generation of about 186MW.
The Ujh Project requires a total land of about 4,350 hectares, twice the size of Delhi airport. Of the total land required, the submergence area is 3,450 hectares which includes 329 hectares of government land, 680.1 hectares of forest land, and 2,441 hectares of private land.
The project, as per the report will include the loss of 680 ha of forest land and over 200,000 trees according to project documents.
“This project is of national importance, providing a geopolitical strategic advantage in form of much more effective use of water of Ujh river. This project will ameliorate the agricultural and power sectors in the otherwise barren Kandi area. It will also be a boon in the dry Kandi belt which is reeling under the peril of impending water crisis during the dry season and also reduce the miseries of floods in the monsoons,” FAC stated in its minutes.
According to Hindustan times, The project will involve the displacement of around 8,648 persons from 52 villages with 3,700 families.
“The Union Territory administration shall therefore also ensure that compensatory afforestation is taken up in the first year of the construction of the project, and adequate post-planting measures are taken to ensure healthy growth of the regenerated forest,” the FAC noted in the minutes.