CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Punjab Protection of Trees Bill, aimed at maintaining green cover, ensuring ecological balance, and regulating the felling and replanting of trees.
Under the proposed law, no one will be allowed to fell trees in urban areas without permission, and anyone who cuts down one tree will be required to plant 10 in its place.
Punjab has one of the lowest forest covers in the country, with forests accounting for just 3.67 per cent of its geographical area. Even after including tree cover outside forests, the state's combined forest and tree cover is close to 7 per cent, far below the 33 per cent benchmark envisaged under the National Forest Policy.
The Bill is expected to be introduced during the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the Bill also provides for penalties and environmental compensation for illegal tree felling. A first offence will attract a fine of Rs 10,000, which will increase to Rs 35,000 for a second violation and Rs 50,000 for a third offence.
The Bill has been drafted following directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had asked the state government to enact a dedicated law to regulate tree felling in urban areas where no such comprehensive legislation currently exists.
Officials maintain that agroforestry and farm-grown commercial tree species will remain outside the ambit of the legislation so that farmers are not discouraged from taking up tree plantations.
As per the bill, every jurisdiction in the state will have a designated “tree officer” whose approval will be mandatory before a tree is felled.
Sources said the state Forest and Wildlife Department had earlier prepared the draft Bill and circulated it among various departments for their comments.
As per the Bill, its objective is “to maintain green cover for ensuring ecological balance besides preventing pollution of the environment and conserving the soil.”
The Bill seeks to regulate the felling and replanting of trees in Punjab. It will apply to all municipal bodies across the state, while rural areas will remain exempt as agroforestry is practised in villages, sources said.
According to the Bill, only a dead tree or one that has fallen without human intervention in an urban area may be cut. The state government will appoint tree officers from the Local Bodies Department or any other department, who will be responsible for granting permission to individuals or government agencies seeking to fell trees.
The officer will be required to decide on an application within 30 days, and within seven days in the case of a dead tree. The officer must record the reasons for the decision after conducting an inquiry. If the officer finds that the tree poses a danger to any person or property, permission to fell it cannot be refused.
The Bill states that any person granted permission to cut a tree shall be bound to plant and tend two trees in place of every tree cut, preferably in the same area.
If land is not available, the tree officer may allow trees to be planted elsewhere or permit the applicant to deposit money in the state treasury, but reasons for this must be recorded in writing.
Trees must be planted within three months, failing which a fine will be imposed by the tree officer for the first offence. The penalty will go up to Rs 50,000 if non-compliance continues.
Individuals who cut trees without permission from the tree officer shall face an environmental compensation penalty of up to Rs 10,000 per tree. In cases where the tree officer’s permission is not required, the concerned agency must inform the tree officer about the tree cutting within 24 hours.
Notably, trees located in cantonment areas, military stations, air force stations, and defence establishments are exempted from the act due to operational requirements of the armed forces.
The Bill is set to replace the existing tree preservation policy for non-forest government and public land, which was passed by the Punjab cabinet earlier.
Punjab has lost 1.13 percent of its geographical area under forest cover and 0.28 percent under tree cover in the last 22 years. Forest cover, which was 4.80 percent of the geographical area in 2001, decreased to 3.67 percent in 2023. Tree cover, which was 3.20 percent in 2001, declined to 2.92 percent in 2023.
Combined, the forest and tree cover reduced to 6.59 percent of the state’s geographical area in 2023, down from 8 percent in 2001, according to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR 2023).