The Jammu and Kashmir government has suspended its earlier permission to fell mulberry trees along the Bund Road stretch from Mochu Bridge to Rawalpora, after residents and environmentalists raised sharp objections to the removal of decades-old trees in the name of road development.
The Directorate of Sericulture Development Department issued an order withholding the No Objection Certificate granted for the removal of 62 mulberry trees, with immediate effect and pending further review.
How It Started
The controversy began when workers started cutting mature mulberry trees along the Rawalpora–Bagh-e-Mehtab canal road in Srinagar as part of a road widening and tile-laying project. Local residents estimated some of the felled trees to be nearly 50 years old.
According to official records, the Executive Engineer of R&B Division Rajbagh had first approached the Sericulture Department in November 2025, seeking permission to remove 92 mulberry trees falling within the project zone. The department then called for a field assessment to explore ways to protect the trees before issuing any approval.
A report submitted by the Additional Director of Sericulture Development Department Kashmir in March 2026 recommended the removal of 62 trees, citing project urgency, inputs from the local MLA, and field verification. The Directorate granted conditional permission for felling on March 20.
Public Backlash Forces Reversal
The decision triggered an immediate backlash. Residents and environmental groups called the removal of mature trees an ecological loss that could not be undone.
“This is not just tree cutting. It is the loss of decades of natural growth that cannot be replaced,” a local resident told Kashmir based news agency Kashmir News Trust.
Noted environmental activist Dr. Raja Muzaffar Bhat welcomed the government’s decision to halt the felling. “The decision to halt the felling of trees is a step in the right direction, especially when Srinagar urgently needs to preserve and expand its green cover to combat rising pollution levels during the winter months from November to February,” he said. Bhat called for a full review of all infrastructure projects to ensure environmental safeguards are built in before work begins.
Laws Being Ignored, Says Activist
As per a Kashmir Observer Video report, Dr. Bhat pointed out that two specific laws, the J&K Protection of Specified Trees Act, 1969, and the J&K Mulberry Protection Act, 1949, exist precisely to prevent such removals. He said these laws are openly violated when road and infrastructure tenders are issued, as environmental concerns are rarely factored into project planning at the start.
Dr. Bhat also noted that concreting around the surviving trees poses its own danger. “Concreting will also kill these trees because aeration will be lost,” he said, warning that the threat to the trees does not end with a halt in felling.
He added that residents of Canal Avenue Rawalpora have filed a formal application with the J&K Pollution Control Committee, and the Regional Director has directed the Executive Engineer of R&B Division Rajbagh to take cognisance of the matter.
The official order states that the earlier approval for felling will remain suspended until further directions are issued. This signals a possible reassessment of the road project and its environmental impact.
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