Anantnag: The Environmental Policy Group (EPG) has written to Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Syeed Fakhrudin, seeking urgent administrative intervention to stop what it described as ongoing unauthorised construction activities in the Aru Valley and adjoining areas falling within the Aru–Overa Wildlife Sanctuary.
In a letter, EPG Convenor Faiz Bakshi said Aru Valley is a high-altitude and ecologically fragile landscape notified as an eco-sensitive and no-construction zone, where any construction, road-laying or terrain alteration without statutory clearances constitutes a serious violation of environmental and wildlife protection laws.
Bakshi said the organisation has received credible field inputs indicating that unauthorised activities are currently underway inside the sanctuary. According to the letter, these include unapproved foundations, slope cutting, earth filling and damage to natural vegetation within the Aru Wildlife Sanctuary limits.
Warning of serious ecological consequences, the EPG stated that such interventions threaten wildlife movement, disrupt natural water channels, destabilise fragile slopes and could lead to irreversible ecological degradation in an already sensitive Himalayan ecosystem.
The letter also flagged the construction of a fresh road inside the Overa Wildlife Sanctuary at Mamal, Pahalgam, within the Aru–Overa Wildlife Sanctuary area. The EPG expressed concern that the road has reportedly been constructed up to a dead end, despite similar construction at the same location having been stopped earlier following official intervention.
Raising questions over regulatory compliance, the EPG said it was not aware of any statutory approvals, wildlife clearances or mitigation measures having been obtained by the executing agency, nor of any vetting by the Wildlife Department in the matter.
The organisation further cautioned that unauthorised construction could adversely impact local livelihoods, noting that eco-tourism-based income in Aru Valley depends on the preservation of its pristine natural landscape.
Seeking immediate action, the EPG has urged the district administration to halt all ongoing construction and allied activities within the Aru and Overa Wildlife Sanctuary areas and to order a time-bound joint inspection to assess the extent of alleged violations and environmental damage.
Stressing the urgency of the issue, the EPG said timely intervention was essential to prevent irreversible harm and to reaffirm the administration’s commitment to environmental governance and the rule of law.
