Tee for trespass

Farooq Abdullah and his dream golf course could be in for a rough haul 8212; a two-member panel of the Union Environment Ministry has calle...

Farooq Abdullah and his dream golf course could be in for a rough haul 8212; a two-member panel of the Union Environment Ministry has called for handover of the former CM8217;s proposed house and the Sher-e-Kashmir International Centre and Complex SKICC, among other structures, as they encroach on the City Forest National Park.

The panel, appointed under an SC order, has said that the area must be brought under the Wildlife Department and notified an eco-sensitive zone at the earliest. The team was asked to study the condition of the erstwhile City Forest National Park, including the last abode of the endangered hangul, the Kashmiri stag, whose number has fallen drastically from 5,000 to just 150 over the past eight decades.

And for the first time, the J-K government, led by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, has promised to 8216;8216;seriously8217;8217; look into the issue. 8216;8216;We will discuss it in the next Cabinet meeting,8217;8217; state Forest Minister Mohi-ud-din Sofi said. 8216;8216;It8217;s a serious matter and we have taken it up with the CM. Hopefully, we will have positive things to show in the future.8217;8217;

So far, the state8217;s record has been dismal. Since 1986, though it had an embargo on constructions around Salim Ali Forest National Park and Dachigam National Park, norms were thrown to the winds.

In 1996, when Farooq Abdullah took over as CM, the government expedited work on the international golf course, now Royal Springs Golf Course. The course came up in five years, at Rs 37 crore, mowing down Rubina trees and graves in the City Forest National Park. Then, the government filled a vast area of Dal Lake and erected the SKICC. The government has been arguing that both structures are now integral to the state8217;s tourism and cannot be done away with.

The Central team of Dr M.K. Ranjitsinh, former secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Aseem Srivastav, an official of International Board for Wildlife, believes it8217;s high time the government realised the ecological casualty. 8216;8216;We can make the government realise the ecological dangers in store. We can help it see disaster. Now, the decision lies with them,8217;8217; Ranjitsinh said.

Panel8217;s prescription

8226; The whole area of City Park be notified as eco-sensitive zone under Environment Protection Act and no natural growth be allowed to be removed

Story continues below this ad

8226; Linking of City Forest to Dachigam National Park through the Gupkar Road would provide a safe corridor in winter to hangul