Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
Last year a seven-member expert committee was set up by the Supreme Court to assess the value of trees cut for development projects on non-forest land. The court acted on a PIL filed by an NGO namely Association for Protection of Democratic Rights which was against felling of 400 non-fruit bearing trees around Kolkata where the Govt was executing a Road over Bridges (ROB) project.
Dr. MK Ranjitsinh Jhala, wildlife expert and former Chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India headed this committee (chairman). The other members included JigmetTakpa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change- (Member Secretary), Arun Singh Rawat, DG, Indian Council for Forestry Research, Prof. Sandeep Tambe, (Indian Forest Service), currently working as Professor of Forestry at the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, Gopal Singh Rawat, former Dean and Director, Wildlife Institute of India, Dr.Nilanjan Ghosh, Director, Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata and Pradeep Krishen, Environmentalist
The committee recommended setting up a tree conservation authority in every state and local level as well (in districts etc). The authority will be overseeing compensatory afforestation and to act as custodians of public-owned trees on non-forest land (PTNFL). The committee submitted 184-page report to the Supreme Court early this year wherein it has recommended a large-scale national research project to conduct a species-specific tree ecosystem service valuation to arrive at their Net Present Value (NPV), considering the same as functions of age, girth-at-breast height, etc.
“When you cut a heritage tree, imagine the value of the oxygen the tree produced all these years. Compare it to how much you would have to pay for the equivalent amount of oxygen tree produced if you have to buy it from somewhere else,” said the then Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde who was heading a three-judge bench that had constituted the 7 member committee. Two other judges included Justice B.R.Gavai and Justice Surya Kant.
Transplanting Chinars
The iconic Rup Lank also called ‘Char Chinar’ Island located in the middle of the Dal Lake was restored with the transplantation of two grown-up Chinar trees. Acting upon the directions of Lt Governor and instructions of Chief Secretary, J&K, Forest Department formulated a strategy in October, 2021 in consultation with technical experts of Floriculture Department, Lake Conservation and Management Authority-LCMA and Scientists of SKUAST and J&K Forest Research Institute -JKFRI for restoration of Rup Lank also known as Char Chinar island by transplanting tall Chinars which is the state tree of Jammu & Kashmir. This island which is said to have been constructed by Murad Baksh brother of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb was looking shabby as two old chinar trees had dried up.
According to an official statement of the Forest Department, two grown up Chinars were removed under the technical guidance of experts from Foreshore road Srinagar where they were said to be under the stressful conditions. These transplants (Chinars) were excavated along with roots & ball of earth and then lifted by using a long hydraulic crane. The transplants were then transported to the Rup Lank island on a huge pontoon which was connected to a motorized boat. This distinctive operation was executed between 19th to 22nd February this year. The two chinars were finally planted at Rup Lank. I have been told by my reliable sources that both these Chinars are growing well at the new site ( Rup Lank-Char Chinar Island). I congratulate the Forest Department , SKUAST Srinagar , LCMA and Floriculture Department for this beautiful work.
During the last 10 years a large number of apple trees, mango trees and other fruit trees have been axed and uprooted during execution of various developmental projects in J&K like road widening or construction of new road projects , highways & railways. Unfortunately not even a single tree could be protected and preserved using transplantation technology inspite of the fact that we have the horticulture institutions, agriculture universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s operational in every district of J&K ?
Uprooting fruit trees by NHAI
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) along with NKC Projects Ltd which is executing the work on 62 kms long Srinagar Semi Ring Road project have uprooted and axed thousands of apple, plum , pear and peach trees which came under alignment of this road in Budgam and Srinagar districts in last six months. JCB’s & hydraulic cranes were recently pressed into service in Wathoora Budgam to uproot plum and apple trees . The affected orchardists were not even given advance notice. They could have been given options to transplant the trees, especially smaller fruit trees. Had our district administration been really farmer friendly they would have consulted KVKs , horticulture department or SKUAST scientists to explore these ideas. The farmers have even not been compensated fully as the assessment for fruit had been made as per 28 year old rates (Rs 16 / Kg for apple and Rs 13 / Kg for plum) which is 6 to 7 times less than the present market value. In case of land the awards have lapsed already . The majority of land owners have not been compensated at all as they went into litigations. The High Court recently issued an order saying construction work should not stop and the same was misinterpreted by NHAI , NKC Pvt Ltd and local administration of Budgam. They could have continued the work in such areas where they had completed the land acquisition process and had paid the compensation to affected people. Instead they chose to trespass into such landed estates which don’t even belong to them. The standing crops like mustard, oats and vegetables were destroyed. Incidentally this season we had a bumper crop of mustard and the Govt could have waited for a month or so when the same could have been harvested. How can NHAI, construction company NKC Pvt Ltd , Revenue Officers like Naib Tehsildar Chadoora , Tehsildar Chadoora , Collector land acquisition Budgam and above all Deputy Commissioner Budgam justify these criminal acts ? One can understand JCB’s damaging mustard or oats of those land owners who have received some part of the compensation , but why was standing crop of those landowners like Gulzar Ahmad Akhoon , Ghulam Mohammad Dar , Ghulam Nabi Bhat also damaged who have received nothing and whose awards have got lapsed which has been authenticated by High Court of J&K in its several pronouncements. In one of its interim orders Ab Salam Bhat v/s Govt of J&K the J&K High Court on 9.11.2020 ordered for maintenance of status-quo and issuance of fresh notification under central law which is applicable with effect from Oct 31st 2019. The division bench of Chief Justice in Bashir Ahmad Bhat v/s Govt of J&K called fruit reassessment petition “premature” as the court said awards for the land had lapsed and when the fresh awards were passed the fruit assessment could be taken up. NHAI , District Administration Budgam and NKC Pvt Ltd didn’t bother to even go through that order when the same was read by this author before NHAI’s lady engineer and Naib Tehsildar Chadoora on March 30th 2022 at Wathoora just before an hour when the uprooting of fruit trees began. I was given assurance by them and the collector as well , but after I left they backstabbed and uprooted the fruit trees , depriving the owners from transplanting the same using modern techniques.
Mango Trees uprooted in Jammu
Some years back during my stay in Jammu I visited Prithipur village in Bishnag where a local resident SaratChander Dubey owns a huge farmhouse that was developed by his late father Captain Bhola Nath Dubey in year1935. I know Mr Dubey for last some years as I found him very proactive towards farmers issues and their fight against obsolete land acquisition law in J&K . Government forcibly acquired Mr Dubey’s 35 kanals of agricultural land for the Jammu Ring Road project at village Prithipur in tehsil Bishnah and 5 kanals in village KotliMian Fateh of R S Pura tehsil. Mr Dubey’s 40 fully grown Mango trees (80 to 85 years old) were axed by authorities along with around 20 trees of Sheesham , Jamun , Mulberry and Litchi. I was surprised to learn that Horticulture department has prepared a vague estimate of Rs 4 lakh only for such a huge property ? He was not even given an option to transplant these trees as Govt could have done so with the use of technology from SKUAST Jammu.
Thirty (30) Mango trees of 85 years of age could have fetched Mr Dubey more than Rs 3 crores provided estimates had been made correctly, but I feel pity on the horticulture officers of Jammu district who have made such indistinct estimates.Pertinently mango trees have a life span of around 300 years and for next 200 to 220 years Mr Dubey’s mango trees would have provided fruits for the next 3 generations. In addition to it Mr Dubey ‘s orchard landhas a market value of Rs 80 lakhs per kanal but the same was forcibly acquired @ Rs 5 lakhs only per kanal as stamp duty rate in the area is 10 to 12 times less than the market rate.
Conclusion
The Supreme Court committee has suggested that while valuing trees using the transplantation-cost method, a user agency would bear the cost of transplanting trees including pre-conditioning, hardening, rootstock consolidation, refuge site preparation, transportation, and transplanting at a refuge site. Why didn’t the Govt explore such a plan for the affected apple , plum or mango growers of Wathoora , Gudsathoo, RambirGrah or PrithipurBishnah Jammu where thousands of fruit trees have been uprooted and axed in last few years ? Why didn’t the Govt give a prior notice to the farmers of Wathoora or Mr Sarat Dubey ? If huge chinars could be excavated from Foreshore road Nishat Srinagar and then transplanted with success at Char Chinar island in Dal Lake , why hasn’t the Govt explored similar action when it comes to saving and protecting our apple, mango or other fruit trees in J&K ? I appeal LG Manoj Sinha to take this issue seriously and take the officers of District Administration Budgam and NHAI to task. I also appeal to the judiciary to intervene. Let us stop bringing destruction under the garb of development.
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