Budgam: Hundreds of apple trees are reported to have been chopped off in Kanidajan and its adjacent areas of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
Locals including Gujars told news agency KNT that a few days back Forest Department issued them a notice sayin that they had encroached upon forest land.
“After serving the notice, the Forest Department not only chopped down hundreds of apple trees but also razed some ‘dokas’ to ground,” they said.
“We have been living here for centuries; even our ancestors lived here and planted these apple trees. It was really heart wrenching to see these trees falling,” said a local of Kanidajan.
A nomad resident of the area while admitting that they were living in forest lands added that they are living there for centuries and never were they touched or harassed.
A Forest official said that the eviction notice to the encroachers was sent a month ago.
“We will retrieve forest land everywhere,” he said. However, there was no comment about the cutting of hundreds of apple trees.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Jammu & Kashmir RTI Movement visited Zilsidara Jabbad village in Chadoora. This is one of the remotest villages in District Budgam. The delegation met several traditional Forest Dwellers in the village, particularly Chopans (Kashmiri Shepherds) who have been living in the area for more than 150 years, an activist told Ziraat Times.
“These people were allocated some forest in late 1940s by the then Government under Grow More Food Programme. Now after 72 years, the present J&K administration is asking them to surrender the same and Eviction Notices are being issued to them by the Forest Department”, RTI Movement said.
“On the other hand, the government claims to be implementing Forest Rights Act (FRA-2006) which gives them legal protection for claiming Rights on Forest land already alloted many decades back. If the Govt is planning to Implement FRA 2006, then why harass such poor people?”, RTI Movement asked.
