Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday urged Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to remove restrictions imposed in the Kandi belt, the semi-hilly region of the state.
Sukhbir informed Javadekar that the Kandi belt covering about 56000 acres comprise of cultivable and forest land in districts of Rupnagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur was under habitation and farming since centuries.
“But in 2006, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests imposed some restrictions on the farmers or habitants of Kandi region on their bonafide land to which is making it difficult for them to live a dignified life,” he said.
Giving a patient hearing to the genuine difficulties of Kandi area populace, the Union Minister assured Sukhbir that a meeting in this regard with the concerned officers would be called shortly and the state government representatives would be invited so that the entire issue could be examined holistically.