Pune: NGT stalls NH4 widening work over ‘incomplete report’ on trees

Several such trees between Dehuroad and Nigdi along NH-4 are under consideration of being axed for the road widening of the highway.

THE National Green Tribunal (NGT) has yet again pulled up National Highway Authority of India and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation for submitting incomplete details on the number of trees, which were to go under the axe for road widening along National Highway 4. On May 2, the green court, while responding to an ongoing case filed by officials of a local NGO Human Rights Protection and Awareness (HRPA) group, had also directed the officials of road development authority to survey and submit photo proofs of all the trees, which fell in the path of road widening.

In total, there are 261 trees between Dehu Road and Nigdi along the national highway, which needed to be felled for the project.
According to the earlier directives of the court, government agencies submitted report that had mentioned a total of 188 trees. Of these, they have suggested to retain 45 trees, 26 were found worth replanting and 99 would be needed to be cut for undertaking road widening.
This means, there is no account of the remaining 73 trees, located in the vicinity along the highway.

“The report submitted to the court was inappropriate. We have surveyed the area and have the actual count of the number of trees present along the highway,” said Shrikant Jogdand, member of HRPA. Until last month, neither government bodies nor the forest department had any detailed plans of replanting these trees, which NGOs and locals have been demanding. That was when, an NGO filed a case in this regard, seeking intervention of the green tribunal. The Tribunal has now sought for the submission of the required report on May 28, until then the trees are not supposed to be axed.