Dozens of Chinars axed to facilitate highway expansion

Dozens of Chinar trees have been axed in Kashmir during the past several years for the expansion of highways.
In Islamabad (Anantnag) district, 33 Chinar trees were coming under the alignment during highway construction, out of which 18 have been axed. In Pulwama district, the government has permitted felling of 58 Chinar trees.
The state authorities had at that time stated that the permission for chopping down Chinars was granted purely in public interest and on the request of project director National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as ‘the trees were creating hindrance in the smooth execution of the work on highway’.
In Pulwama area the assessment was made by a committee comprising district floriculture officer, chief horticulture officer, sericulture development officer and range officer. Rs 20,84,800 assessed by the committee as timber value of the trees was deposited by NHAI in the concerned treasuries. In Islamabad (Anantnag) district, the quantity of timber was 5924 Cfts. The project director NHAI has deposited an amount of Rs 24,63,800 towards compensation in favor of Roads and Buildings department Anantnag as timber value of 18 felled Chinars.
The state authorities informed further that director floriculture Kashmir has been asked by the divisional administration to provide saplings of Chinar for plantation on either side of the expanded highway.
Numbers 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 Chinars in the valley but environmentalists claim that the number is much less. KNS