The Truth About Green Clearances in Kashmir

This Environment Day, let's bust some myths. Infrastructure projects aren't tearing through forests unchecked. In Jammu & Kashmir, layers of legal, scientific, and community checks make sure progress doesn't come at nature's cost.

- Peerzada Mohsin Shafi

Every time a new road is planned or a tunnel is announced in Jammu & Kashmir, the old worries come up. People think forests will be chopped down, rivers will be polluted, and environmental rules will be tossed aside in the name of development.

On this World Environment Day, with the world rightly focused on plastic pollution, it’s also time to talk about something closer to home: the growing mistrust around infrastructure projects and their environmental impact.

Where does this fear come from? Partly from past mistakes, partly from lack of information, and often from the assumption that “development” and “ecology” are always on opposite sides.

But that’s not the whole truth. Behind every major project in Jammu & Kashmir, whether it’s a highway tunnel or a power line, there’s a long paper trail of rules, studies, inspections, and public hearings.

Let’s start with environmental clearance. No big project can begin without it. Since 2006, India’s Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) rules make sure projects go through multiple layers of checks.

That means studying air and water quality, soil conditions, wildlife presence, and even how communities will be affected. It also means site visits and public hearings where local voices are heard. Not just noted, but taken seriously.

Look at the NH-44 upgradation or the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail line. These aren’t just engineering marvels — they’re also case studies in due process. Engineers can’t break ground unless they have scientific evidence and public support behind them.