HC asks NHAI to ensure planting of saplings along highways

The National Highways Authority of India has assured the Madras High Court bench here that it will instruct concessionaires who had taken up BoT projects in Thanjavur, Karaikudi, Tiruchirapalli, Karur, and Tirunelveli to plant trees along highways and also replace dead saplings.
Justice Sudhakar and Justice Velumani asked the directors who appeared before the court today to implement the agreement entered into with concessionaires of the BoT scheme and immediately provide restroom and restaurant facilities near the Toll gate. They were also asked to report about the compliance of the agreement on February 6.
The bench also sought a detailed list of toll booths, and their locations in the report. They also ordered that all the concessionaires be impleaded in the PIL as respondents.

The bench gave this direction on a PIL by an advocate, S M Anantha Murugan, seeking a direction to NHAI and Tamil Nadu Ministry of Highways to plant trees by the roadside.
The petitioner claimed that a large number of trees were felled by the highway authorities to lay new roads and to convert existing two-lane roads into four-lane.
Though a number of writs had been filed in High Courts to restrain the highway authorities from felling trees, they always assured the court that they would plant three times more trees than the number that to be felled, he added.

The courts permitted the authorities to fell trees based on the assurance of the authorities, he claimed.

Murugan contended that the Union government spent more than Rs 75 crore on upgrading National Highways. To construct NH 7 from Kanyakumari to Varanasi, highway authorities felled around 1.7 lakh trees, he alleged.
Similarly, a large number of trees were felled to extend NH 6, NH 15 and NH 68, but the authorities failed to plant new ones, he claimed.
"The highway authorities collected toll from the public to maintain roads and roadside trees. No concrete steps were taken by the Central and State governments to plant trees. Therefore the court should restrain the government from collecting toll charges from the public," Murugan said.

He added that no action had been taken despite submitting a representation to NHAI and Tamil Nadu Ministry of Highways on August 14, 2013 urging them to plant trees by the roadside.