The destruction of 3,500 apple plants in Chadoora deserves swift justice. Kashmir cannot build a stronger rural economy while criminal acts of this scale pass without accountability.

Last year, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment on illegal tree felling. 

Hearing a case involving the cutting of 454 trees in the protected Taj Trapezium Zone, a bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh per illegally felled tree. The court accepted the recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee and made an observation that drew national attention. 

Trees, the court said, create environmental wealth that takes generations to build. Green cover lost through reckless destruction demands a serious response because regeneration takes decades.

That principle holds profound relevance for Kashmir today.

During the night of May 29 and 30, while families throughout the valley prepared for Eid-ul-Azha celebrations, unknown persons entered orchards in Rangeen Kultreh village of Chadoora and cut down roughly 3,500 high-density Italian apple plants. Those orchards covered nearly 20 to 30 kanals and represented years of planning, investment and labour by local educated youth who chose horticulture as a profession.

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Anyone who has planted a high-density orchard understands the scale of this loss. Farmers spend years preparing land, arranging irrigation, purchasing quality plants and waiting for commercial returns. A single night wiped out work that had consumed enormous financial and emotional investment.

This crime extends far beyond damage to private........

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