Budgam: Two persons have been arrested for chopping walnut trees in Rathsuna area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Sunday.
An official said that both were arrested by the Police after they were caught chopping off the walnut trees in the area.
Meanwhile, police officials told news agency Kashmir News Observer that they have seized the portion of the trees which was chopped off.
Pertinently, 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 a 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.
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