Jammu, Apr 01: The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Wednesday informed the Legislative Assembly that 20.9352 hectares of forest land has been diverted for the widening of the Srinagar-Baramulla National Highway, with a total compensation of over Rs 3.83 crore realized from the user agency.
In a written reply to a question raised by National Conference leader and MLA from Uri, Dr. Sajjad Shafi, the Forest, Ecology and Environment Department stated that the final diversion approval for the Srinagar Baramulla Uri Road Section-4, executed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in Baramulla district, was accorded by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
The government informed the House that a total of 740 forest trees are involved in the project, which includes 623 trees with girth size above 90 cm and 117 poles measuring between 30-90 cm.
Responding to the query regarding compensation, the government stated that the user agency (BRO) has paid a total of Rs 3,83,75,627 towards compensatory levies. This includes Rs 96,43,949 for Compensatory Afforestation (CA) to be carried out on degraded forest land across four identified sites in Baramulla district, and Rs 2,87,31,678 towards Net Present Value (NPV) of the diverted forest land.
Regarding afforestation measures, the government informed the MLA that a proposal for planting 27,000 saplings on 27 hectares of degraded forest land has been prepared and approved by the competent authority. However, no plantation target has been assigned for the year 2026 as the plantation activities were completed during 2024-25.
Providing details on environmental protection measures, the government informed the House that the BRO has carried out slope stabilization and ecological restoration works along the stretch. As per the Detailed Project Report (DPR), construction of breast walls and retaining walls measuring 22,315 meters was envisaged, of which 15,900 meters have been completed at various spots.
The government, in its written response, did not specify the reasons for the shortfall in the completion of the remaining slope stabilization works.
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