Tree Cutting

124K trees to be cut for MP rail project; environmentalists raise alarm

At least 1.24 lakh trees are likely to be felled on a section passing through dense forests to clear the way for the construction of the railway's Mhow-Khandwa gauge conversion project in Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday. Under this crucial project, the railway's historic narrow-gauge line is being converted into a broad-gauge line, they said. The new railway line will reduce the distance between Indore, the economic capital of Madhya Pradesh, and Mumbai, the country's financial capital, and will also strengthen western MP's connectivity with south India, the officials said. Environmentalists have warned of the adverse impact of tree felling for the railway line, even as the forest department said it has prepared a detailed mitigation plan. "As many as 1.41 lakh trees are estimated to be affected in the dense forests of Indore and Khargone districts for the construction of the Mhow-Sanawad section of the railway's Mhow-Khandwa gauge conversion project," Indore's Division

Goregaon-Mulund project: SC to hear BMC plea for nod to fell more trees

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider listing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's plea seeking a nod to fell more trees for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project subject to compensatory afforestation. The top court had permitted the civic body's tree authority to allow felling of 95 trees for the project on August 14. On Thursday, the BMC counsel informed the bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran that more trees are needed to be felled and this aspect be considered at the earliest, subject to compensatory afforestation. The bench agreed to consider listing the plea for hearing. The GMLR project aims at developing road connectivity from Western Express Highway to Eastern Express Highway to reduce travel time by almost an hour between Mulund and Goregaon. The BMC, which is responsible for the ambitious project, sought the apex court's permission to cut the trees for the first phase of development. The civic body had earlier ass

Delhi PWD gets initial nod to cut trees for Barapullah Phase 3 flyover

The Public Works Department ( PWD) has received in-principle tree-felling approval from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) for Barapullah Phase 3 project, said officials on Wednesday. The Barapullah Phase 3 project envisages providing seamless and signal-free connectivity between Mayur Vihar-I (East Delhi) and AIIMS (South Delhi). The new flyover will merge with the existing Barapullah flyover at Sarai Kale Khan. "In-principle approval has been given by the CEC for cutting trees. There are about 274 trees on the Mayur Vihar side due to which the project has been stuck for several years. As soon as we get the final approval, work on the ground will commence," said a senior PWD officer. Last month, the CEC carried out a survey of the site where the trees have to be removed. PWD Minister Parvesh Verma has visited the site twice in the past four months. "It will take around six months to complete the project after tree-cutting permission is approved. Our target is to complete the

SC slams TS govt for tree felling in Kancha Gachibowli, halts deforestation

The court contended that the state government should have obtained prior permission if it intended to carry out any construction on the land

NGT seeks presence of Uttarakhand govt over illegal felling of trees

The NGT has asked the member secretary of the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board (UKPCB) and the state's principal chief conservator of forests to appear before it in a matter regarding illegal felling of 176 trees in Udham Singh Nagar district. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was hearing a petition on the unauthorised felling of trees during the development of a residential colony by private persons in the district's Chandpur village. In its order dated February 24, a bench of judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel said that according to a report submitted by a joint committee that was set up earlier, 176 trees were felled illegally and environmental compensation had to be recovered for it. The committee comprised the district magistrate, the Dehradun regional office of the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, and the UKPCB. Taking note of the report, the tribunal sought a response from the Uttarakhand chief secretary and ..

Illegal trees cutting in Greater Noida not taken seriously by UP govt: NGT

The National Green Tribunal has observed that the illegal felling of 980 trees in Greater Noida was not taken seriously by the Uttar Pradesh authorities, and asked the principal chief conservator of forest to appear virtually before it on May 13 to apprise it on the action taken. The green body was hearing a plea alleging unauthorised felling of a large number of trees in Greater Noida's DCM (Daewoo Motors) company premises which had been shut for the last 22 years. Observing that a significant number of trees have been cut, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said that after an inspection by the forest officers, 980 trees were found to be cut and that action had only been taken against two vehicles transporting timber from the illegally cut trees. "Such timber could, at most, be from eight to 10 illegally cut trees. There is no record indicating what action has been taken by the forest department to trace the timber cut from the more than 900 other trees, nor to

Illegal tree felling in Delhi: NGT issues notice to environment ministry

The National Green Tribunal has issued notice to the Centre regarding the alleged felling of scores of trees in the national capital. The green body was hearing about the alleged illegal felling of thousands of trees at Chajju Ram Bagh in Jindpur by a private builder to construct a warehouse and commercial godown. In an order dated December 9, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted that the district magistrate of north Delhi did not file his reply, as per the tribunal's earlier order to produce the relevant khasra entries and revenue record of Chajju Ram Bagh of last 20 years to ascertain the correct position. The bench also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel noted that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) filed a compliance report enclosing an order where the forest officials concerned had imposed a compounding fee of Rs nine lakh for illegal felling of 15 trees. "It cannot be ascertained under what ...

How will you compensate felling of trees in ridge forest: SC to Delhi govt

During the hearing today, the bench took strong exception to the LG's role in felling of trees without taking prior permission of the court

BJP should present docs to prove Kejriwal okayed tree felling in Ridge: AAP

The ruling AAP on Saturday challenged the BJP to present documents to prove that trees were felled in the Ridge area after the approval of the Delhi chief minister. The BJP has found an opportunity to do politics in this matter and since Friday, it has been showing some documents saying that these trees were felled on the orders of Kejriwal, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said. "This is impossible because only the Supreme Court can give permission for the felling of trees from the Ridge area. If the BJP has such documents, then they should stop drama and put these papers before the Supreme Court," she said. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor hit back and alleged AAP was "misleading" people. "All the documents we have shared have signatures of the Delhi Chief Minister and Environment minister. The AAP government can not escape responsibility as the party leaders are misleading people by saying the permission was related to a different project," he said. AAP sourc

AAP questions BJP's 'silence' on tree felling in Ridge area

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday questioned the BJP's silence over the "illegal" felling of trees in the ridge area, and said the party's stand on Delhi's pollution is just "politics". Addressing a press conference, AAP senior leader Jasmine Shah said that since the issue has surfaced, the BJP and Lt Governor VK Saxena have maintained "silence" over it. "BJP is the first to do politics over the issue of pollution and shed crocodile tears over it. They have stalled many works of the Delhi government over the pollution issue. Why are they silent?" he said. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is alleged to have cut 1,100 trees without due permission. The Supreme Court, hearing a case related to the matter, has directed the Delhi government and the civic agencies to discuss comprehensive measures to enhance the city's green cover. Shah also asked if officers of the DDA and the forest department were under pressure from their higher-ups over the matter. He claimed that the officials w

One Nation, One Pass: Forest produce portal gets 24K applications

Transit permits are issued for tree species that are regulated, while the users can self-generate No Objection Certificates for exempted species

Tree cutting begins to expand coal mines in Chhattisgarh's Hasdeo Arand

Tree felling for Parsa East and Kete Basan (PEKB) phase-2 extension coal mines in the biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Arand region of Chhattisgarh's Surguja district has begun amid police security cover. Activists alleged police on Thursday detained those who were protesting against coal mining in the Hasdeo area. The Opposition Congress raised the issue in the state Assembly and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of favouring industrialists. The local administration claimed it had all the necessary permissions to go ahead with tree felling, while police officials said they had visited the residences of some locals to advise them not to create a law and order situation. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai told reporters in the Assembly complex that he has received information about opposition by people (against deforestation) but no arrest has been made. The forest department started felling trees for PEKB phase 2 in Udaipur development block of Surguja district this (Thursday

Green activists stage 'Chipko' agitation to protest tree cutting in Pune

Hundreds of activists have staged the 'Chalo Chipko' (let's hug trees) agitation in the Mutha riverbed in Maharashtra's Pune city to protest the felling of trees for the ambitious Pune River Front Development project. During the agitation held on Saturday, the protesters carried placards, shouted slogans to save the river, trees and the city and hugged the trees along the riverbank while forming a human chain. The project envisages development of a 44-kilometre stretch of the river bank comprising 22.2 km of the Mula river, 10.4 km of the Mutha river and 11.8 km of the Mula-Mutha river. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the project in March 2022. The activists accused the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) of destroying natural greenery along the riverbank near Bund Garden in the name of its River Rejuvenation Project. A few thousand trees including some rare and old trees are being cut down for a one-km stretch of the riverfront, they alleged. The PMC, howe

SC allows Mumbai Metro to pursue application to cut 84 trees in Aarey

Case pertains to construction of Metro car shed on forest land in Aarey which adjoins Sanjay Gandhi National Park; next hearing likely in Feb 2023

Valuation of trees: SC asks committee to submit report within four weeks

The Supreme Court asked an expert committee, constituted by the apex court to develop a set of scientific and policy guidelines which would govern the decision making regarding cutting of trees

Doon Expressway: SC stays felling of 11,000 tress till November 26

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed felling of around 11,000 trees and plants on the Ganeshpur-Dehradun Road (NH-72A) stretch, part of the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor until November 26

Tree transplantation in cities have no method; doesn't help green cover

With poor transplanting methods and shoddy aftercare, trees stand a poor chance of survival, show examples from across India

Hundreds of trees chopped off along Yamuna river, furore on social media

The trees were cut on Saturday and after a furore on social media and complaints by the green activists, the police filed an FIR

No tree cutting in South Delhi for redevelopment projs: NBCC to contractors

Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain had yesterday directed the Forest Department to lodge FIR against those responsible for cutting trees in Netaji Nagar