Walnut Trees: Kashmir Lockdown’s Other Victim

An undeclared curfew continues to grip large parts of Kashmir since August, when the Centre abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status in terms of autonomy. Though post-paid mobile services were restored in mid-October, internet and text messaging remained suspended till the magazine went to print. Most schools and colleges were closed and markets lacked their usual bustle. While the Army, police and administrative officials were busy maintaining law and order till the state was bifurcated into two Union Territories on October 31, some in the hinterlands took advantage of the 86 days of vacuum.

Construction activities picked up pace without paying any heed to legalities. In several districts, residents allege that builders encroached on land, particularly the greenbelt, where construction is prohibited. Hundreds of pine and cypress trees were felled in forests and smuggled out of the state by timber mafia. The most brazen act of illegality was that even residents started felling walnut trees in broad daylight, which is protected in the region. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Preservation of Specified Trees Act, 1969, a walnut tree can neither be felled nor pruned, even if it stands on private land, without permission from the revenue department. It has got the special status mainly to protect the walnut economy. Kashmir accounts for over 90 per cent of India’s walnut production and is a major exporter of the nutritious nut. Its timber has a high demand in the state’s handicrafts industry, which is the second largest after fruits in the valley.