NGT directs Jammu & Kashmir to take action against officers who allowed felling of over 1,000 trees

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) came down heavily on the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) government on August 26, 2025, for allowing the axing of around 1,000 trees in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

The principal bench of the NGT — comprising Justice Prakash Shrivastava (chairperson) and expert members A Senthil Vel, Ishwar Singh, and Prashant Gargava — directed the chief secretary of the Union Territory (UT) to submit a comprehensive affidavit.

It should explain how 447 fully grown pinus trees, 340 poles, and 236 saplings primarily of deodar, kail, and fir species were felled in the forest area of Kupwara, paving the way for road construction towards the Bangus valley, a local tourist destination. 

The forest department of J&K has not even been paid the compensation for this 40-kilometre-long road construction project between Handwara town and Bangus. The work on the project began in 2019 and forest clearance for phase 1 was provided. But the petitioner in this case alleges that the government has already started phase 2 work without getting mandatory forest clearance. 

“The PWD R&B division Handwara, which is executing work on this road project, has done destruction to the environment. They only got forest clearance for phase 1. For phase 2, the construction of drains, stopping soil erosion, etc was mandatory and no clearance was given for this. More importantly, neither environmental clearance was obtained nor was any environmental management plan prepared for this road project. This prompted me to seek the intervention of the NGT two years back. I am grateful to NGT for taking my petition seriously,” said Rasikh Rasool, a Kupwara-based activist and lawyer, who is the petitioner in this case. 

The construction work was taken up without paying the necessary compensation towards the forest department which amounts to Rs 3.81 crore. The tribunal has directed the chief secretary to spell out disciplinary action against officers who permitted the violations and to disclose whether such irregularities exist in other projects across the UT.

The J&K government permitted the PWD R&B department to use 14 hectares of dense forest land for phase 1 of the Handwara-Bangus road.

In return, the user agency was required to pay Rs 3.81 crore under the following heads: net present value (Rs 1.31 crore), compensatory afforestation (Rs 28 lakh) and roadside avenue plantation (Rs 1.68 crore).

Irfan Rasool, the chief conservator of forests (Kashmir) who appeared virtually before the NGT on August 26, admitted that the amount has not been deposited so far. Despite this, tree felling has already taken place on the ground.

The tribunal directed the chief secretary to explain how tree cutting was permitted in the absence of payment and to fix accountability on officers who allowed such violations. It also flagged serious irregularities in mineral use.

A compliance report by the J&K Pollution Control Committee revealed that the project consumed 74,461.6 metric tonnes of material. Disposal permits were obtained only for 7,792 MT. Some 63,940 MT was accounted for through road-cutting debris. A discrepancy of 2,728.82 MT remained unexplained.

The NGT’s order reads:

“The Chief Secretary, J&K must file an affidavit within six weeks, clarifying how the violations occurred, fixing responsibility on erring officers, and detailing disciplinary action taken. The affidavit must also include a list of other projects where trees were cut and compensation amounts remain unpaid. The Secretary, Mining Department must explain the mineral discrepancies and actions against illegal extraction. The Rs 3.81 crore compensation must be recovered within two months.

The matter will be taken up again on November 11, 2025, when the Tribunal is expected to review the Chief Secretary’s affidavit and decide the matter further.”