Punjab and Haryana High Court asks Punjab to decide BBMB tree-felling plea in three weeks, clears NHAI projects with conditions

During the hearing, the court noted that BBMB had applied on August 18, 2025, for permission to cut around 4,056 trees to set up an 18 MW solar power plant on its land, but the application was still pending with the authorities.

After Punjab Advocate General M S Bedi assured the bench that the matter would be decided expeditiously, the court directed the competent authority to decide the BBMB application within three weeks by passing a speaking order.

The court also made it clear that the decision should not be influenced by the interim ban or the pendency of the main petition. The court clarified that if statutory permissions were not granted, BBMB would have to face consequences under the law.

NHAI submissions

The bench then heard detailed submissions on applications filed by NHAI seeking modification of the blanket ban to allow continuation of highway projects. NHAI submitted that it had obtained all statutory approvals, including Stage II forest clearances from both the Centre and the state in September 2025, and that compensatory afforestation plans were already in place.

NHAI informed the court that one of the projects, a highway stretch along the international border in Punjab, was nearly 75 per cent complete and was of national and strategic importance, facilitating defence and troop movement across a border belt of nearly 100 kilometres. It said forest land along the highway had already been notified as a protected forest for compensatory plantation, and that funds for afforestation had been deposited.

Opposing any relaxation, the petitioners argued that although permissions had been granted, there was no clarity on timelines for compensatory afforestation. They contended that despite identifying land months earlier, no substantial plantation work had begun, even after one monsoon season had passed. They urged the court to ensure that development and afforestation progressed simultaneously in keeping with principles of sustainable development.

The bench questioned why applications seeking permission to fell trees had remained undecided for months, and observed that agencies could not postpone compensatory plantation until after development works were completed. It indicated that monitoring mechanisms and timelines for afforestation would need to be addressed, while considering modifications to the December 24, 2025, order.

NHAI project of national importance

On the NHAI applications, the bench noted that Stage II approvals granted by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Punjab Government in September 2025 had been placed on record, along with documents relating to compensatory afforestation. The court recorded that the project along the international border was of national importance and was nearing completion.

Taking note of the statutory permissions already granted and the notification declaring the plantation raised along the highway as a protected forest, the bench held that the blanket ban imposed on December 24 could not obstruct projects where all approvals were in place. It accordingly modified its earlier order to allow NHAI to proceed with its work, subject to compliance with all conditions attached to the forest clearances, including the condition of compensatory afforestation.

During the hearing, Punjab Advocate General Bedi told the court that state policy provides for compensatory afforestation at a minimum ratio of five trees for every tree felled. Chief Justice Sheel Nagu responded that a higher number, 10, would be preferable.

The bench repeatedly said that, given the scale of tree felling and environmental concerns, a tenfold norm was desirable. However, it stopped short of formally mandating it while allowing NHAI’s projects to proceed subject to compliance with forest clearance conditions and