India, Feb. 4 -- The Union government has put on hold three proposed railway projects in Kashmir following concerns that the planned rail alignments would lead to large-scale damage to apple orchards, offering major relief to farmers whose livelihoods depend on horticulture.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the decision was taken after the Jammu and Kashmir government and Members of Parliament from the Union Territory recommended against proceeding with the projects to prevent harm to the region's orchards.

"The Jammu and Kashmir government and MPs from the state recommended against the construction of these rail lines. So we have stopped these three projects. There was concern about damage to apple orchards due to these projects,...