Deforestation for paramilitary base deepens ecological crisis in Kashmir
Environmentalists warn deforestation near Srinagar could devastate the fragile Himalayan ecosystem in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir
SRINAGAR, Kashmir (MNTV) — Plans to clear hundreds of acres of protected forest to build a new paramilitary base on the outskirts of Srinagar have triggered alarm in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, where scientists and residents warn the move could destroy one of the region’s last remaining green belts.
According to petitions before India’s National Green Tribunal (NGT), the project involves converting large sections of the Zabarwan hill range — part of the city’s conservation reserve — into a “battalion camping site” for the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
According to the independent Indian outlet The Wire, at least 49 families from Brien and nearby villages have challenged the plan, calling it illegal and ecologically catastrophic.
Court documents show that in mid-2023 local authorities and CRPF officials met to identify the site, initially pegged at 124 kanals (about 6 hectares) but later expanded tenfold to roughly 1,324 kanals — more than 65 hectares. Petitioners allege that over 50,000 trees could be cut down if construction proceeds.
The disputed land lies within the catchment of Dachigam National Park, a protected reserve home to the critically endangered Kashmir Hangul, the only surviving Asiatic subspecies of red deer.
The park also connects to the Overa Wildlife Sanctuary, forming a crucial corridor for black bears, musk deer, and leopards. Conservationists say fragmenting this habitat will accelerate biodiversity loss and increase the risk of landslides and flash floods in the western Himalayas.
Residents say the government has violated India’s Wildlife Protection Act (1972), National Forest Policy (1988), and the Srinagar Master Plan 2035, which designate the Zabarwan slopes as a no-construction green zone. “If they cut down the forest, it will create a disaster for the environment,” said petitioner Mohammad Ramzan Hafiz, warning that new roads and camps will open the area to further encroachment.
Environmental experts argue the project reflects a broader pattern of militarization reshaping Kashmir’s fragile ecology. Decades of troop deployment and unchecked development have already shrunk forest cover and disturbed alpine watersheds that regulate the valley’s climate.
Removing thousands of trees, they say, would erode soil, diminish groundwater recharge, and worsen Srinagar’s vulnerability to flooding — a threat heightened by rising temperatures and erratic rainfall.
The NGT is scheduled to hear the case on November 24. Petitioners are demanding an immediate halt to construction and a full environmental impact assessment.
For many in the Zabarwan foothills, the dispute has come to symbolize a larger crisis — how the militarization of Kashmir’s landscape continues to override ecological priorities.
Environmentalists warn that security infrastructure and unchecked expansion are steadily eroding the Himalayan environment that has sustained the region for centuries.
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