EPG welcomes CM’s call for judicious development, seeks protection of Srinagar’s green spaces

Srinagar, July 30: The Environmental Policy Group (EPG) has welcomed the strong environmental message delivered by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during the inauguration of Van Mahotsav 2025, where he declared that “development must be judicious; for every tree uprooted, a hundred must be planted.”

As per the statement, the Chief Minister’s remarks, made in the presence of senior government officials and civil society members, underscored the urgent need to balance infrastructure growth with ecological preservation and intergenerational responsibility.

EPG has termed the Chief Minister’s statement both timely and significant, especially as Srinagar’s fragile urban ecology faces mounting pressures. Chief among its concerns is the proposed flyover project from MA Link Road to Rajbagh, which would slice through the Polo Ground and lead to the felling of scores of majestic chinar trees—some centuries old. The chinar, a cultural and ecological icon of Kashmir, is not merely a tree but a living symbol of the Valley’s identity and environmental resilience.

“The loss of these trees cannot be calculated in numbers alone. It is a blow to biodiversity, heritage, and the psychological landscape of the city,” EPG said in a statement. “It goes against the very spirit of what the Chief Minister advocated.”

The proposed alignment of the flyover would also heavily impact the Polo Ground—a vital public commons in the heart of Srinagar. Long a space for youth recreation, sporting events, and social gatherings, the ground serves as more than just open land. “At a time when we are grappling with rising social challenges, including substance abuse among the youth, spaces like Polo Ground must be preserved—not paved over,” the EPG stressed.

The group also flagged growing concerns over Srinagar’s increasing concretisation, warning that unchecked infrastructure expansion—without adequate ecological safeguards—could worsen the city’s vulnerability to urban flooding. “The creation of impermeable surfaces, especially in already water-sensitive zones, has proven disastrous in other urban areas. Srinagar cannot afford to ignore those warning signs,” EPG noted.

While acknowledging the legitimate need to address traffic congestion and improve urban mobility, EPG urged authorities to explore alternative solutions that do not involve the destruction of irreplaceable green assets. It suggested revisiting the idea of repurposing the existing Zero Bridge as a motorable crossing—an option that could ease congestion without compromising the city’s heritage and ecology.

The group also called attention to the silent but alarming damage being done to existing chinars across the city. “Age-old trees are being strangled by tightly constructed concrete boundaries, some of which are now even covered with granite slabs. Nothing can be more satirical than this slow, sanctioned suffocation of a tree,” the group remarked.

EPG urged the administration to follow the Chief Minister’s words with action by ordering a comprehensive environmental impact review of the proposed flyover and initiating transparent public consultations. “If development is to serve the people, it must protect the living environment they depend on. Replacing trees on paper is no substitute for protecting them on the ground,” the statement concluded.

The group said that preserving Srinagar’s green spaces is not just an environmental imperative, but an investment in public health, social cohesion, and climate resilience.