Plan to cut 5 million Khejri trees in Rajasthan sparks concern

Jaipur: During Zero Hour in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly on Thursday, Independent MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati raised serious concerns over the large-scale felling of Khejri trees in western Rajasthan, warning that preparations were underway to cut down nearly 5 million trees in the region. He urged the state government to immediately enact a Khejri conservation law to protect the iconic desert species. 

Addressing the House, Bhati said the Khejri tree is not merely a plant but the foundation of life, water, and livelihood in the arid landscape and is the state tree of Rajasthan.

Recalling the historic sacrifice of Amrita Devi Bishnoi and 363 others, who laid down their lives to protect Khejri trees, he said the legacy of conservation was now under serious threat.

Bhati pointed out that indiscriminate cutting of Khejri trees was causing irreversible damage to the environment, ecology, culture, and socio-economic balance of western Rajasthan.

He informed the Assembly that over the last 15 years, more than 2.6 million Khejri trees have already been felled in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, and Barmer districts.

Warning of an even larger ecological crisis ahead, the MLA said that plans were in place to cut down an additional 5 million Khejri trees in the coming period across western Rajasthan, intensifying desertification and threatening traditional livelihoods.

Bhati further noted that Rajasthan’s state tree (Khejri), state animal (camel), and state bird (Great Indian Bustard) are all facing the risk of extinction, while migration from western Rajasthan continues to rise due to ecological degradation. He said public movements have already begun across the region to save the Khejri tree.

Calling for urgent government intervention, Bhati demanded the enactment of strict and comprehensive laws for Khejri conservation, stressing that protecting the tree was essential to safeguarding Rajasthan’s ecological heritage and the future of its desert communities.