Srinagar, Dec 20: Locals from Brain Nishat in Srinagar outskirts have filed an application before the National Green Tribunal alleging that the authorities have begun clearing land and marking trees for the proposed establishment of a Battalion Camping Site for several CRPF battalions inside an ecologically fragile area adjoining Dachigam National Park.
The plea states that around 1324 kanals of land identified for the project fall within the Brain Nishat Conservation Reserve, a notified protected zone under the Wildlife Protection Act. The land also forms part of the catchment of Dal Lake and is categorised as a Green Belt under the Srinagar Master Plan 2035, where construction activity is prohibited.
According to the applicants, thousands of green standing trees, including protected walnut and willow species, face the risk of felling despite restrictions under the Jammu and Kashmir Preservation of Specified Trees Act, 1969. They claim that on-ground demarcation work has already begun and that these actions violate environmental safeguards and the Public Trust Doctrine affirmed by the Supreme Court.
The petition as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust, highlights that the reserve acts as an important wildlife corridor for critically endangered Hangul, Asiatic Black Bear, Himalayan Grey Langur and Leopard. It further alleges that no seismic, ecological or carbon footprint assessment has been carried out before the initiation of work in the highly sensitive Zabarwan foothills.
The locals maintain that they are not opposed to the establishment of security infrastructure but insist that such facilities should be set up at locations that do not threaten fragile ecosystems. [KNT]
