The speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Mohammad Akbar Lone on Saturday directed the government to provide the list of persons who have encroached on the world famous Dal lake and steps it has taken to remove them. Intervening during the question hour,Lone said the government has not received information about the encroachers from the concerned department and it is directed to furnish their list to all members of the house. Sharing the concern of the members over the degradation of the lake,he said preservation of lake is common concern and the government should take every effort to restore pristine glory of the waterbody. Mir Saifullah (NC) who raised the question said government has given an ambiguous reply while admitting the land has been encroached. I want to know what action government propose to take against the encroachers,he asked. Opposition members Mehbooba Mufti,Abdul Rehman Veeri,Nizamuddin Bhat (PDP) and others joined Mir and demanded a clear reply from the government. Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand,who is incharge of housing and urban development,assured the house that government would take all necessary measures to restore its glory. He said the total area of lake as per the revenue record was over 1995 hectares. Of which,over 407 hectares comprise water body and 1588 hectares of land mass. Tara Chand said an area of 110 hectares of land was encroached as on July 1,2003,while nearly 16 hectares encroached due to change of soil. However,over 110 hectares of land was retrieved,he said.
