Details

Category: ENVIRONMENT

Published: 17 April 2015

JAMMU: Clarifying felling of trees in some parts of Srinagar city, a spokesman of Forest Department has said that the Department had started cutting/removing over matured/dry trees, which were posing threat to life and property and were reportedly health hazardous trees (female poplars) existing on the busy roads after following all the codal formalities under rules and laid down procedures.

 

The Department of Social Forestry has been empowered by the Government to allow felling of trees raised by it on non-forest lands which are posing threat to life and property/over matured for harvesting purposes/deceased/leaning/dry or any other public interest/health hazard etc. There is also a designated auction committee constituted by the Government through which the felling process is done, said the Spokesman.

 

Also the issue of female poplar trees yielding cotton dehiscence had become alarming over the past some years following which a Committee was constituted by the Government for suggesting measures to mitigate the problem of cotton fall of poplars in Kashmir Valley to frame a report on the nuisance of cotton which is health hazard to public. The Social Forestry Department was assigned the task of identification of female poplars/removal of cotton producing popular trees/lopping upto 2/3rd height which are not removed immediately and to replace them by male poplars within two to three years so that the nuisance created due to female poplar cotton can be arrested. In the light of the same, the felling was started by the Department, said the Spokesman.

 

 However, the spokesman said, in view of the concern of the district administration of Srinagar a committee of officers has been constituted to revisit the markings/proposal by conducting spot inspection. The committee headed by Regional Director, Social Forestry Department, Kashmir after conducting the spot inspection will submit its report within a week’s time and till that the felling operations have been kept on hold, the spokesman added.

 

The spokesman further said that though the felling of green trees is banned as per the rulings of the Supreme Court, however where felling on forest lands are involved for public interest/diversion cases under Forest Conservation Act, the same has been exempted along with plantation raised under Social Forestry by the farmers. Moreover, the Department of Social Forestry takes every care of scenic beauty and contemplates to replace the over matured/deceased/dry/decayed/health hazardous trees (female poplars) with conifers/male poplars particularly wherever strip plantation is involved, the spokesman added.