Srinagar, June 5 -- Every time a new road is planned or a tunnel is announced in Jammu & Kashmir, the old worries come up. People think forests will be chopped down, rivers will be polluted, and environmental rules will be tossed aside in the name of development.

On this World Environment Day, with the world rightly focused on plastic pollution, it's also time to talk about something closer to home: the growing mistrust around infrastructure projects and their environmental impact.

Where does this fear come from? Partly from past mistakes, partly from lack of information, and often from the assumption that "development" and "ecology" are always on opposite sides.

But that's not the whole truth. Behind every major project in Jammu & Kas...