Omar backs 57-yr-old walnut felling ban law in Assembly, links it to economy, Kashmir’s identity

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah, connected Monday, made a beardown transportation against a measure brought by his ain enactment MLA that seeks to assistance landowners the close to chopped walnut trees connected their property.Omar said transition of the measure would harm the country’s largest walnut economy, of which Kashmir accounts for astir 90 per cent, and would rob J&K of a cardinal portion of its identity.The bill, moved by National Conference legislator from Pahalgam, Altaf Ahmad Wani, sought amendments to the Jammu and Kashmir Preservation of Specified Trees Act, 1969, to let felling of walnut trees connected backstage land.Under the 1969 law, nary idiosyncratic is allowed to chopped a walnut tree, whether connected backstage oregon authorities land, without anterior support from the competent authority, and immoderate usurpation of the instrumentality attracts a good ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000.Defending his bill, Wani said the instrumentality is creating a immense occupation for landowners arsenic walnut trees inhabit important space, astir 3 trees per kanal (0.05 hectares), and they don’t springiness tenable gross to landowners.He said walnuts were erstwhile a large root of income successful Kashmir, but astir of the trees person aged and stopped yielding. Wani said harvesting is mostly done by the owners themselves, and implicit the years, galore radical person been injured and died owed to falls from trees during the harvesting.

He advocated replacing ageing trees with high-density plantations.“It is simply a unusual instrumentality wherever I americium not allowed to chopped a histrion lasting connected my ain land. One has to sound connected galore doors to get permission, which has go a root of corruption,” Wani said.Omar, however, defended the restrictions, saying the instrumentality serves a broader intent of conserving walnut and chinar trees. He said J&K produces astir 3.5 lakh metric tonnes of walnuts annually, astir 90 per cent of the country’s full output.The CM said walnut wood is integral to the handicrafts industry, peculiarly wood carving, and voiced interest that allowing felling of walnut trees could pb to their replacement with factual buildings. “I americium definite erstwhile walnut trees are cut, owners volition physique houses oregon different structures there,” Omar said, adding that the authorities could see changes lone if felled trees would beryllium replaced with walnut cultivation connected the aforesaid land.Though the walnut manufacture faces contention from soft-shelled varieties from regions similar California, Chile, Kashmiri walnuts are valued for their superior taste. Major export destinations for Kashmiri walnuts see the UAE, Turkey, Iraq, Singapore, Algeria, Qatar, Bhutan, Kuwait, Seychelles and Nigeria.