Activism Isn't Enough: Politics Must Protect Kashmir's Ecology

2025-08-30 03:01:50

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
File Photo: CM Abdullah inspecting flood Tawi food situation.

This morning, I got a startling message from Dr. Raja Muzaffar, a well-known social and environmental activist.

He said that while Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Surinder Choudhary, had told the assembly in March that a private company, NKC Projects Pvt Ltd, was fined eight million rupees for illegal mining in the Shaliganga stream in Budgam,“[this] penalty money is yet to be recovered & the Mining Department officers told me that penalty amount was not Rs 80 Lakh but Rs 80,000 Only.”

As this seemed to me a classic case of greenwashing, I quickly called the director of Jammu & Kashmir's Geology and Mining Department, Suraj Prakash Rukwal, to verify the claim and seek more details.

The call, however, went straight to a voice message that said,“your message has been forwarded.”

Repeated attempts to reach him brought no different result.

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