In Islamabad (Anantnag) district of Kashmir valley, 33 chinar trees were coming under the alignment during the highway construction, out of which 18 tress have been fallen down. In Pulwama district the government of Jammu and Kashmir has permitted to fell down 58 chinar trees.
|| MIR FAYAZ
Contrary to government’s tall claims of preserving the majestic chinar tree from extinction, it has itself chopped them down in hun- dreds during the construction of North South corridor highway in the past, a measure being deliberately pushed un- der the carpet. The details available informed that hundreds of age old chinars were cut during the construction of highway in North and South Kashmir.
In Islamabad (Anantnag) district of Kashmir valley, 33 chinar trees were coming under the alignment during the highway construc- tion, out of which 18 tress have been fallen down. In Pulwama district the government of Jammu and Kashmir has permitted to fell down 58 chinar trees. The state authorities here stated that the permission for chopping down ma- jestic Kashmiri Chinars (PlatanusOrien- talisKashmiriania), locally called ‘Bouin’, a symbol of Kashmir, has been granted purely in the ‘public interest’ and on the request of the project director, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Srinagar as according to the government, ‘the trees were creating hindrance in the smooth execution of the work on nation- al highway’.
It has been learnt that in Pulwama area the assessment was made by a committee comprising district floriculture officer, chief horticulture officer, sericulture development officer and range officer. An amount of rupees 20, 84, 800 as- sessed by the committee as timber value of the tress was deposited by NHAI in the concerned treasuries. In Islamabad (Anantnag) district, the quantity of timber was 5924 Cfts and wood 471Quanitls. The project director NHAI has deposited an amount of rupees 24, 63, 8000 to- wards compensation in favor of Roads and Buildings Anantnag as timber value of 18 felled chinars.
The state authorities informed further that the director floriculture Kashmir has been asked by the divisional administration to provide saplings of chinar for the plantation on the either side of the highway. The number of this majestic tree of Kashmir is declining due to continuous felling for road-widening and other developmental projects. According to government data, in 2007 there were 38,401 of the trees in valley but environmen- talists claim that the number much less than what the government is claiming. Interestingly the former chief con- servator of forests Mohammad Sultan Wadoo in his book published in the year 2007 titled, “
The Trees Of Our Heritage” stated that there are 17,124 chinars in Kashmir and 746 are cut every year. He had remarked further that if such process continues, valley will be without chinars in 22 years. “The Trees Of Our Heritage” stated that there are 17,124 chinars in Kashmir and 746 are cut every year. He had remarked further that if such process continues, valley will be without chinars in 22 years.
