NOCs issued after thorough scrutiny: Forest Minister

Jammu : The government Saturday informed the House that No Objection Certificates (NOCs) are issued only after thorough scrutiny and field verification, in strict adherence to the prescribed norms and statutory provisions for construction of residential houses.
This was revealed Saturday by Minister for Forest, Ecology & Environment, Javed Ahmed Rana, while replying to a question raised by Legislator Altaf Ahmad Wani in the House Saturday.
The Minister informed that during the period from January 2024 to December 2025, the office of Wildlife Warden, South Division, Anantnag received a total of 349 applications for issuance of NOCs for construction of residential houses from bonafide local residents. He added that these applications were forwarded by the Pahalgam Development Authority, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pahalgam and Block Development Officer Pahalgam and after due scrutiny and field verification reports, NOCs were issued in respect of 346 applications.
Regarding the empanelled employees, the Minister stated that the Wildlife Department has a total of 517 empanelled employees/workers across various divisions of Jammu and Kashmir, engaged in the protection, conservation and management of wildlife resources. He stated that salaries and wages of all these empanelled employees are being disbursed in a timely manner and no arrears are pending against them.
With regard to funding, the government stated that for the financial year 2025–26, the Wildlife Department has been allocated funds under different schemes, adding that an amount of ₹8575.71 lakh has been allotted under CAPEX, Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and CAMPA.