The tribunal directed the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) to take action against those responsible and ordered the fine to be deposited with the HSPCB within four weeks. (Express photo)
The National Green Tribunal(NGT) has imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 80,000 on the Deputy Director of the Faridabad Animal Husbandry and Dairying department in connection with the illegal felling of eight old pipal trees, in violation of forest department permission that required their transplantation.
The tribunal directed the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) to take action against those responsible and ordered the fine to be deposited with the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) within four weeks.
In its order dated January 21, the NGT’s principal bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member Dr A Senthil Vel, pointed to illegal cutting of heritage peepal trees on the premises of the Deputy Director’s office in Faridabad for construction of a hospital. “We are of the view that the Joint Committee has rightly recorded a finding about the illegal felling of eight trees,” it said.
The Tribunal had formed the joint committee on December 10, 2024, comprising representatives from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Chandigarh, to investigate the matter.
The committee’s report, dated January 31, 2025, and an updated status report confirmed that permission under the Haryana Land Preservation Act was for felling 44 trees and transplanting eight peepal trees.
It found stumps of the peepal trees at the site, concluding a violation of condition no. 12 which mandated transplantation of the eight trees and planting five times the number of felled trees (260 in total).
Referring to the Joint Committee report submitted, the bench said permission was granted on October 25, 2023, by the DFO, Faridabad, to fell 44 trees but this excluded the peepal trees, which were to be transplanted.
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“We are of view that Respondent No. 2 has violated condition no. 12 [transplanting] of the permission dated 25.10.2023. Accordingly, we direct the Divisional Forest Officer to take appropriate action against the person responsible for violating the said condition in accordance with law expeditiously…,” said the bench.
It further noted: “Compensatory afforestation of planting five trees against each felling of tree has been done, but that alone is not sufficient because there is immediate loss of carbon sink due to illegal felling of eight fully grown mature trees whereas growing of saplings and creation of such a carbon sink again will take several years.”
The NGT also rejected the animal husbandry department’s replies, dated April 25, 2025, and July 15, 2025, which claimed transplantation was not feasible due to the trees’ heavy girth as per the contractor, and that roots with short stems were left for relocation.
The tribunal termed this a “mere cover-up” without expert support from the Horticulture Department, noting that cutting defeated the purpose of transplantation and caused immediate loss of tree cover and carbon sink.
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The bench also noted the department’s valuation of the 52 trees on December 11, 2023, by the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Faridabad, which set a minimum bid of Rs 24,954 and fetched Rs 2,00,000 in auction, deposited in the treasury.
However, it pointed out that the report did not separately mention peepal trees, and valuation was unjustified since no cutting permission existed for them.
Taking a liberal view, the tribunal fixed the fine at Rs 10,000 per tree.
Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana.
Education
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020)
- B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019)
Professional Experience
Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features.
Reporting Interests
His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon.
Recent Coverage (2025)
- Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025).
- Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025).
- Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025).
- Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram.
- Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025).
- Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025).
Contact
X (Twitter): @AB_Hazardous ... Read More
