Srinagar: The Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF) informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it has dropped the controversial project to construct a new base in the eco-fragile Zabarwan mountain range girdling J&K’s summer capital Srinagar.The project, it was feared, would cause displacement and widespread damage to the environment in Dachigam National Park besides choking the natural habitat of the critically endangered Kashmiri hangul and other animal species.A group of locals from Brein locality of Srinagar who were facing prospects of displacement by the project had approached the green tribunal last year.Appearing in the tribunal on Monday (February 16) for the CRPF’s directorate general and commandant of 79th battalion who were impleaded as ‘Respondent no 8’ and ‘Respondent no 9’ in the case, advocates Gigi C. George and Gyan Chand Meena said that they have “received instructions” that the project has been “dropped”.The court was informed that the instructions have been conveyed by the in-charge (law) of CRPF inspector general of police (headquarters) Vinod Sawant.“In view of the subsequent development, nothing survives in this OA (original application), which is accordingly disposed of. Pending IA (interlocutory application) is also disposed of,” the NGT said in its order.‘Prevented our heaven from becoming a hell’Advocate Saurabh Sharma who represented the local petitioners said that the tribunal had issued notice for appearance to the respondents from J&K authorities on September 25 last year and the CRPF authorities on February 16.“I am glad that the site will be left untouched now and continue to have a thriving wildlife and vibrant environment,” Sharma said.Reacting to the development, locals who had approached the NGT with their grievances expressed gratitude to the judiciary as well as the CRPF for preventing an “environmental disaster” from unfolding in the heart of Srinagar.“It is good news for the whole of Kashmir. We are extremely thankful to the judges. The court has prevented our heaven from becoming a hell,” Ghulam Mohiuddin, one of the petitioners, told The Wire.Earlier, the CRPF told the court that the proposal to construct a ‘Battalion Camping Site’ on hundreds of kanals of land in Zabarwan hills was a “national security” issue as it “serves a larger public interest by ensuring peace, stability and security” in Kashmir.In an affidavit to the NGT on December 18, 2025, as The Wire had reported, the CRPF said that the proposed base was meant for four battalions which were housed in “dispersed and often inadequate rented accommodations” that “poses significant logistical challenges, increases vulnerability and hinders effective operational deployment and training”.Although the CRPF earlier told the J&K administration that 1,324 kanals of land comprising state land, shamilaat and mehfooz kahcharie land titles were meant to be acquired for the project, it increased the requirement in its December affidavit to 1,668 kanals for nine battalions and an office for the CRPF’s deputy inspector general.The force had also admitted that the proposed project was located in a “greenbelt” area but assured the court that “necessary approvals or relaxations for essential security infrastructure … based on the overriding national security imperative” were going to be obtained before the proposal was set into motion.’49 families would have faced displacement’However, environmentalists in Kashmir warned that changing the land use pattern of a designated green zone in Srinagar for the CRPF base which entailed felling more than 50000 trees as per local estimates could damage the eco-fragile hills in the lap of the western Himalayas.A group of concerned citizens, the ruling National Conference as well as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and others had opposed the project citing its environmental costs.Besides, 49 families in Brien locality of Srinagar were set to face displacement as their homes and farms fell under the proposed CRPF base, according to the court documents.The Zabarwan range of mountains serves as a focal centre of tourism in Srinagar city with the famed Mughal Gardens, the iconic Dal Lake and the Dachigam National Park besides other tourist places falling in its vicinity.Security agencies believe that the area which is also the summer home of Kashmir’s nomadic tribes serves as a transit route for militants to shuttle between Srinagar and south Kashmir.Last year, a joint team of security forces gunned down three militants who were allegedly involved in the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Daghwan in the higher reaches of the area where the CRPF base was proposed to come up.