National Green Tribunal orders probe into allegations of illegal tree felling by UP govt for Kanwar Marg

The joint committee has to probe six issues. Key among them are whether trees were cut illegally for the proposed road, whether the project is feasible and if an alternate route exists, whether work has been done so far sticking to the permissible width of 15/20 m and the potential environmental damage of the project.

The committee will comprise officials from the Forest Survey of India, a senior scientist not below the rank of joint secretary of the environment ministry, the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh or his representative and the district magistrate of Meerut, who will act as the coordinating agency.

The tribunal also made the Surveyor-General of India a party to the case after it was noted that the Survey of India did not comply with an earlier order. The agency was asked to file satellite images of the project stretch under examination, showing the extent of trees that have been cut on both sides of the canal.

In its order, the tribunal also took on record tree-felling photographs filed by the petitioner and noted the petitioner’s submission that the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary carried out inspection at the project site last week.

The tribunal also took on record the submissions that a similar project of the Uttar Pradesh Government had been rejected by the environment ministry owing to the potential biodiversity and forest damage it would cause. The petitioner had submitted a 2010 inspection report of the ministry that concluded that the expressway, proposed back then, “would cause a lot of damage to the vegetation all along the canal and would definitely disturb the habitat of wildlife which are having natural abode all along the canal”.

“It is not clear if while taking a fresh decision, the earlier report of 2010 and conclusion recorded therein was considered. The concluding part also records that there are already two roads which are connecting Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar with Uttarakhand via NH 58 and Kawar road on the left bank of the upper Ganga canal. Therefore, it is also required to be shown if the feasibility of constructing the present road in the light of the earlier observations in the report of 2010 was duly examined,” the tribunal said in its order.

The tribunal also noted that it was not clear whether the geo-coordinates of trees on the project route were available before they were cut. “By comparing the same, it can be ascertained if the illegal felling of trees has taken place in the process,” its order said.

The tribunal added that a large number of trees were proposed to be cut and that due caution was therefore required to ensure that no illegal or excess felling of trees takes place.