The Kandi belt of Jammu region comprises Kathua, Samba, Jammu and parts of Udhampur, Reasi and Rajouri. It has specific geography and topography and conspicuously has scarcity of water and arable land. Agricultural produce in this belt mostly depend on monsoon rains. In case of failure of the rains, this belt is adversely affected. It is but natural that developmental works in this belt have to be of specific nature. Local people and particularly the farmers have, through long tradition, learnt some tricks of making the best use of their holdings because humans always try to adopt indigenous ways of surviving the vagaries of weather.
A plant called khair in the idiom of the people of Kandi belt grows in forests. It has commercial utility. Khair is basically a medicinal plant and is used in making anti-biotic and some life saving drugs by pharmaceutical companies. It is used in leather industry and also in ‘Pan’, the chewing material liked by many people in the regions of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, MP and other States. One full grown khair tree may cost around Rs 3000. People in kandi area made khair-wood trade a means of livelihood. Notwithstanding the importance of this tree to the economic life of the people in the area, the Supreme Court of India imposed a ban on felling of green khair-trees in Kandi belt, which adversely affected the economic life of the people. The ban was lifted after twenty years and that brought a sigh of relief to a large number of people of the region who pursued khair-wood trade.
The ban was lifted only on khair trees plantation in private farms and not on those that existed in the green belt of forest. Thus farmers of kandi belt whose agricultural production is usually undependable and uncertain have once again taken to the cultivation of khair-trees in their private farms. A rough estimate tells us that commercial activity connected with khair-tree plantation could be to the tune of several crores of rupees. It could have very salutary impact on the economy of a vast chunk of population in this region. The issue is that the State Government is not issuing notification to the effect that the farmers can fell the green khair-trees standing in their private farms for commercial purposes. It needs to be mentioned that while lifting the ban on felling of green khair trees in private plantation farms, the Supreme Court has put some specific conditions like the girth of the trunk and the age of the tree etc. It is not that the farmer can fell any green khair tree at his free will and choice. There are specifications laid down by the Supreme Court. The farmers are willing to abide by the instructions of the Court and would not violate it. But why the Government does not issue the notification is a mystery.
We have said that the kandi area has very weak economy. Its agriculture is mostly dependent on rains which are usually uncertain. There is scarcity of water and arable land. These are major drawbacks of the region and life is very hard. The entire belt is by and large under-developed. The Government makes very feeble attempts of changing the economy of the people in this belt. Now that khair tree plantation has raised some hope with the farmers, the Government has adopted unsympathetic attitude towards the people at large. Actually, the Government should have constituted a special team of experts to conduct study and survey of the entire Kandi area and suggest what type of activity could be viable and beneficial for the people of this region. The team could study the weather and soil conditions, flora and fauna, irrigation possibilities, dry weather plantation possibilities, roads and connectivity and overall developmental prospects of entire kandi belt. We think that the belt needs special developmental plan. However, we expect that the Government will not indefinitely delay notifying that the green khair trees planted in private farms can be felled according to the specifications laid down by the Supreme Court. This would bring some immediate relief to the people involved with this commercial activity to strengthen their economy.
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