NEW DELHI: The Himachal Pradesh forest department has planted around 87,000 saplings in the forest range of Parwanoo, Dharampur and nearby areas as compensatory afforestation, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) today informed the National Green Tribunal.
NHAI's counsel informed a bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar that around 52,800 saplings and over 27,000 saplings were planted in Parwanoo and Dharampur respectively.
After the counsel's submission, the bench said, "We will send local commissioner to these two places."
It appointed a local commissioner to visit these places to see plantation of saplings, saying "It was necessary to have a complete verification."
It also said that the saplings would be counted and the commissioner would prepare a video of the area.
"Let the report be filed within two weeks from today," the bench said.
The green panel observed that as per NHAI, these saplings have been planted as a "compensatory afforestation" in view of the trees which were uprooted for a road project from Parwanoo to Shoghi.
It had earlier pulled up the authorities concerned for not planting trees after cutting thousands of plants for the road project and had observed that "time is not far away when people will have to carry oxygen cylinder" due to environment degradation.
The tribunal had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the matter pertaining to cutting of trees from Parwanoo to Shoghi in Himachal Pradesh for the project.
The NGT had directed the conservator of forest to file an affidavit giving details of number of trees cut in the stretch and had also asked the NHAI and state government to file their reports on the issue.