Six thousand trees in Tehri-Garhwal will be cut and not 30,000 planned earlier as part of an arrangement to break a deadlock and allow an 800 MW transmission line from the Tehri dam to power-starved Uttar Pradesh. Directions to this effect were issued after a public hearing conducted by the Supreme Court’s central empowered committee (CEC).The issue had been hanging fire ever since the Powergrid Corporation planned construction of a corridor through 36 km of dense forest, including the famous Advani forest which nurtured the Chipko Andolan in 1978. The range is also unique for its Sal and Cheed Pine forests. It was here that 1500 enraged villagers hugged the trees, preventing timber merchants from having their way.The other ranges — the Jaikot Phalsari range and the Kusraila mixed forest in the foothills of the Garhwal mountains just outside the Rajaji National Park — too are ecologically important. During the public hearing, the CEC accepted that the felling of trees in a width of 85 meters was not necessary. Instead, trees would be cut four metres in the periphery of the towers and three metres under the transmission lines. Powergrid has also been directed to raise the height of the conducting towers so that the distance between the conductors and trees increases. Beneath the transmission lines, the trees would be loped off instead of being felled completely.‘‘There was a misconception that 85 metres would be the right of the way and everything in its wake would have to be chopped,’’ said a CEC member. The new set of directions means increased workload both for the Powergrid and the Forest department because the towers have to be erected, lines marked by rope and trees marked and cut. The felling will be staggered and timber not transported as this will entail cutting more trees to make way for means of transportation. These directions were issued after a PIL was filed by the Uttrakhand Jan Jagriti Sansthan in October 2002 in the Supreme Court to save the trees. The court had sent it to the CEC which conducted the hearing. ‘‘It’s a major victory for the people of Uttarakhand and we have shown that a handful of committed people can take on corruption and injustice,’’ says J P Dabral. He says many more trees will be cut in the interiors of the forests with little monitoring. The next stage is the 36 km Rajaji National Park stretch where the length of the powerline has already been built, right upto the entry point on the north and south side. Although the Rajaji stretch was mentioned in the PIL, the CEC left the decision to the SC. A committee set up by the court had suggested an alternate route, involving the cutting of 14,000 trees instead of the proposed 5 lakh. ‘‘We are hopeful that after these directions, the court will consider the same for the Rajaji forests as well,’’ says Dabral.
