Prayagraj: The Uttar Pradesh government has assured the Allahabad High Court that the felling of trees for the proposed road widening in Prayagraj will be done after compensatory afforestation in July.
This assurance was given after the High Court suggested that cutting of trees should be postponed for some time so that the period of scorching heat ends.
The court was hearing a PIL alleging that trees were being cut indiscriminately by the state in the name of widening of roads. The court directed to list the PIL for next hearing in the third week of July.
During the hearing of the PIL filed by Anand Malviya and others, Chief Standing Counsel (CSC) Kunal Ravi Singh, appearing for the state government, assured the court that no felling of trees would be done in the months of June and July. And it will be restarted after compensatory afforestation is done in July, 2024.
He further said that if compensatory afforestation is done without cutting the existing trees, it would not be possible to achieve the set target, but he admitted that it would still be possible to achieve 60-70 per cent of the set target.Taking CSC's assurance on record, a division bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Kshitij Shailendra directed the Vice Chairman, Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) to file his affidavit on or before the next date and bring on record the steps taken . Meanwhile, regarding compensatory afforestation.
He will also disclose in his affidavit the species of trees planted on Mahatma Gandhi Marg and Sadar Patel Marg in Civil Lines area under the compensatory afforestation drive in lieu of cutting of old growth trees on both the roads during road widening.
The court also directed the authorities to consider plantation of local species of shade trees on both the above mentioned roads during the upcoming rainy season and disclose the steps taken in this regard in the affidavit to be filed.
Passing the above directions, the court in its order dated May 31 said, "We have seen the temperature of the city reaching almost 50 degrees Celsius and one of the major reasons responsible for this is non-judicious felling of trees and significant reduction in green cover. There is shortage." City.
“The newspapers are full of reports of deaths of people due to heat stroke and significant increase in the number of patients in hospitals. We feel that it is the need of the hour that compensatory afforestation be carried out without fail in the month of July, 2024. Efforts should be made to plant healthy grown trees, as assured by the Vice Chairman, Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) in the affidavit filed by him,'' the court said.
This assurance was given after the High Court suggested that cutting of trees should be postponed for some time so that the period of scorching heat ends.
The court was hearing a PIL alleging that trees were being cut indiscriminately by the state in the name of widening of roads. The court directed to list the PIL for next hearing in the third week of July.
During the hearing of the PIL filed by Anand Malviya and others, Chief Standing Counsel (CSC) Kunal Ravi Singh, appearing for the state government, assured the court that no felling of trees would be done in the months of June and July. And it will be restarted after compensatory afforestation is done in July, 2024.
He further said that if compensatory afforestation is done without cutting the existing trees, it would not be possible to achieve the set target, but he admitted that it would still be possible to achieve 60-70 per cent of the set target.Taking CSC's assurance on record, a division bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Kshitij Shailendra directed the Vice Chairman, Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) to file his affidavit on or before the next date and bring on record the steps taken . Meanwhile, regarding compensatory afforestation.
He will also disclose in his affidavit the species of trees planted on Mahatma Gandhi Marg and Sadar Patel Marg in Civil Lines area under the compensatory afforestation drive in lieu of cutting of old growth trees on both the roads during road widening.
The court also directed the authorities to consider plantation of local species of shade trees on both the above mentioned roads during the upcoming rainy season and disclose the steps taken in this regard in the affidavit to be filed.
Passing the above directions, the court in its order dated May 31 said, "We have seen the temperature of the city reaching almost 50 degrees Celsius and one of the major reasons responsible for this is non-judicious felling of trees and significant reduction in green cover. There is shortage." City.
“The newspapers are full of reports of deaths of people due to heat stroke and significant increase in the number of patients in hospitals. We feel that it is the need of the hour that compensatory afforestation be carried out without fail in the month of July, 2024. Efforts should be made to plant healthy grown trees, as assured by the Vice Chairman, Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) in the affidavit filed by him,'' the court said.
