Trees find friend in MLA

GANDHINAGAR, JAN 21: Shaking the foundations of the Infocity for which the the State Government is all set to lay the stone, Food and Civ...

GANDHINAGAR, JAN 21: Shaking the foundations of the Infocity for which the the State Government is all set to lay the stone, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh has taken strong exception to a reported move to cut thousands of trees for the project.

He is also unhappy with the tree cutting in some ministers house.Singh summoned the district collector and senior officials of the Forest Department today to discuss the issue. He was told that nearly 98,000 trees would have to be cut for the project on the land adjacent to the National Co-operative Management Institute near the Indroda Circle.

The minister is reported to have written to Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and Forest Minister Kanjibhai Patel, expressing his concern over cutting of large number of trees. He wants the Infocity to be shifted to a place there is no environmental threat.

8220;The forest officials told me today that nearly 98,000 trees would have to be chopped for setting up the Infocity on the sprawling land near the Indroda Circle on the outskirts of Gandhinagar, and if this happens, it will pose a great threat to the environment,8221; Singh told the Express Newsline here this evening. He told the officials to frustrate the move to massacre8217; the trees in such a large number.

In fact, the revelation made by the forest officials contradicts the claim of those government officers in charge of the Infocity project that of about three lakh trees standing on the land, only about 200 trees would be cut.

A forest official said there were various species of trees and shrubs, including mango, amla and other fruit trees and herbal plants, standing on the land.

He sought to shift the project to either the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation estate in Gandhinagar or on the ravine bank of the Sabarmati river around the Capital.

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Singh also raised the issue of chopping off trees on the very residential premises of at least four of his colleagues in the ministerial enclave in Gandhinagar. He called up the Forest Minister and registered his protest against this, demanding that an action be initiated against those violating the Saurashtra Tree felling Act.

However, when contacted the Forest Minister told The Express Newsline that the trees being referred to by Singh had only been pruned and that there was no question of violating the Act. The residential premises where the trees had been pruned8217; belong to the ministers Nitin Patel, Narottam Patel and Dilip Patel, besides Bharatiya Janata Party chief whip Bharat Barot.

Water Supply Minister Narottam Patel defended the 8220;pruning8221; of trees on his residential premises by saying, this had to be done to do away with the mosquito menace,8221; while Bharat Barot was reported to have told his colleagues that he had to go for pruning8217; of trees to save the vegetables grown in his kitchen garden.