JK News Today
Leh, 02, May 2026: On April 30, Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with key political leaders of Ladakh. While emphasizing the spiritual nature of his visit to Leh on the pious occasion of Buddh Purnima, he urged for a focussed approach on sustainable development. Large-scale plantation and water security were identified by Hon’ble HM as key pillars for overall development of Ladakh. The ongoing work to create 50 water bodies in different villages under Project Him Sarovar and recent plantation drive were shared with Hon’ble HM, which he appreciated as a positive measure. Shri Thupstan Chewang underscored the need to tap water of Shyok river for drinking water and irrigation needs. Shri Sonam Wangchuk mentioned that hardly 1% of glacial-melt in Ladakh is utilized and the rest is wasted. He highlighted the need for new innovative ways to conserve the glacial-melt. The UT administration has already undertaken a massive drive to meet the twin objectives of plantation and water conservation in recent days, to ensure climate resilient development of Ladakh. I am pleased to share that in the last 40 days, more than 4500 trees of native species have already been planted across Leh and Kargil to promote environmental sustainability. In addition to this, nearly 500 saplings of species like Bamboo, Amaltas, Gulmohar, Jacaranda, Bougainvillea, Bargad, Pipal and Imli, have been planted in Leh, on experimental basis. As directed by Hon’ble HM, the plantation exercise and water conservation efforts will be further intensified across the Ladakh region. We aim at creating at least 100 large water bodies in the next one year. Our collective efforts, will be now aimed at increasing the forest cover in Ladakh from less than 1% at present to at least 5% in the next two years.
