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Highway widening in north Kashmir diverts 20.9 hectares of forest land: Govt informs Assembly

  • Idrees Bukhtiyar By Idrees Bukhtiyar
  • Comments 0
  • 01 Apr 2026

Srinagar, Apr 01: The widening of the Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri highway has led to the diversion of over 20 hectares of forest land and the felling of 740 trees, the Jammu and Kashmir government informed the Assembly on Wednesday. The details were shared in response to a question raised by Uri MLA Dr Sajjad Shafi, with Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Javed Ahmad Rana providing a comprehensive account of the environmental impact and compensatory measures. According to the government, a total of 20.9352 hectares of forest land has been diverted for the construction of the Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri Road (Section-4), executed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO)

in Baramulla district under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Final clearance for the diversion was granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The Minister further informed that 740 forest trees were affected, including 623 poles (30–90 cm girth) and 117 fully grown trees (above 90 cm girth). Regarding compensation, the government said the executing agency has deposited a total of Rs 3.83 crore towards forest diversion. This includes Rs 96.43 lakh for compensatory afforestation and Rs 2.87 crore as Net Present Value (NPV) of the diverted forest land. Compensatory afforestation is being carried out over degraded forest land at three sites: Kitcharma

Forest in Baramulla, Mond Forest in Doabgah, and Khahmoh area under the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department. The government also disclosed that a plantation plan involving 27,000 saplings over 27 hectares was completed during 2024–25. No fresh plantation target has been set for 2026 as afforestation work under the project stands completed. On ecological safeguards, the Minister stated that the BRO has undertaken slope stabilization and restoration measures along the affected highway stretch, including the construction of breast walls and retaining walls at vulnerable locations. Against a planned length of 22,315 metres, around 15,900 metres of such works have already been completed.

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