SRINAGAR: The reported felling of centuries-old Chinar trees in Rani Bagh, Anantnag, has sparked outrage in Jammu and Kashmir, with political leaders, environmentalists, and activists demanding an independent inquiry into the incident. Chinar trees, a protected species under the Jammu and Kashmir Preservation of Specified Trees Act, 1969, are revered as symbols of Kashmir’s heritage and ecological balance.
National Conference MLA Bashir Ahmad Shah Veeri called for a high-level investigation, urging the Anantnag deputy commissioner to take immediate action. Reacting to social media images purportedly showing felled green Chinar trees, Veeri demanded that the National Green Tribunal take cognisance of the matter and that those responsible be booked for vandalising public property.
Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti also criticised the axing, highlighting the contradiction in government policies. “On even days the Jammu and Kashmir government geotags Chinar trees, promoting conservation, but on odd days, 500-year-old Chinar trees symbolising history and the very passage of time itself are felled. Infuriating and puzzling. No excuse whatsoever can justify this travesty,” she posted on X.
Environmental activists have raised alarm over what they describe as a systematic erosion of Kashmir’s green heritage. Raja Muzaffar Bhat, an environmentalist, said the trees in Rani Bagh were vandalised under the pretext of pruning. “Chinar trees in the middle of Rani Bagh in Anantnag have been vandalised under the garb of lopping. I am feeling depressed,” he said.
The Environmental Policy Group (EPG) has condemned the felling, calling it a “grave injustice to the legacy of Kashmir.” The organisation stressed that these trees, believed to be over 500 years old, hold immense cultural, historical, and ecological significance. “This tragic event follows the government’s geo-tagging initiative to protect Chinar trees, making it even more shocking and intolerable,” the EPG said in a statement.
The group also highlighted that this incident is not an isolated one. It pointed to the recent uprooting of over 100 Chinar trees for infrastructure projects, including the widening of the Narbal-Delina road. EPG had previously protested against the cutting of Chinar trees in the parking area of the Wildlife Warden Kashmir’s office at Hokersar Wetland, warning that such actions threaten biodiversity and violate conservation laws.
EPG has demanded an immediate and independent investigation into the Rani Bagh felling, as well as stricter enforcement of conservation laws. It has called on the administration to strengthen the geo-tagging and monitoring of Chinar trees under the Chinar Conservation Project and ensure that infrastructure projects do not come at the cost of Kashmir’s natural and cultural heritage.
