RANCHI: Raising serious concerns over the environmental and ecological impact of cutting down trees on such a large scale, the Jharkhand High Court has stayed the felling of 13,681 full-grown trees identified for the construction of a bypass around Chatra.
Justice Ananda Sen, while hearing a petition filed by Suresh Sao, directed that none of the identified trees be felled until further orders. The court also left it open to the concerned authorities to reconsider the proposed road alignment and explore alternative routes that could minimise tree loss.
The court also impleaded the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as respondents in the matter.
The matter came before the High Court after the petitioner sought a diversion of the scheduled road alignment, contending that an alternative route could save around 300 full-grown trees standing on his land.
During the previous hearing, the court had directed the authorities to inspect the site and submit a report detailing the number of trees that would have to be felled under the existing alignment and whether the road could be diverted to save them.
On Thursday, the State, acting on the instructions of the Executive Engineer, NH Division, Hazaribagh, informed the court that 13,681 trees, including those located in forest areas, would have to be felled under the existing alignment. The State further submitted that all the identified trees were full-grown.
Taking serious note of the scale of the proposed tree felling, Justice Sen observed that 13,681 full-grown trees were by no means a small number and that their removal would have a significant impact on the environment and ecology.
The court emphasised that a forest cannot be viewed merely as a collection of trees, but as a complete ecosystem that supports animals, birds, insects and other forms of life.
It further observed that even compensatory afforestation and the plantation of a large number of saplings could not immediately replace an existing forest ecosystem. The court noted that saplings may take more than 100 years to grow and 2023-24, 1.05 lakh trees were cut down for National Highway projects. In Dhanbad, 5,811 trees were felled for the construction of an eight-lane road, while 3,518 trees were cut for the Barhi-Koderma NH into full-grown trees and develop into a mature forest.
Notably, large-scale tree felling has taken place in the state over the past few years, with the number of saplings planted falling far short of this figure.
Between the financial years 2020-21 and 2023-24, 1.05 lakh trees were cut down for National Highway projects. In Dhanbad, 5,811 trees were felled for the construction of an eight-lane road, while 3,518 trees were cut for the Barhi-Koderma NH. In Ranchi, 2,600 trees were removed for the widening of the Namkum-Angara Road, followed by the felling of 1,200 trees for the Smart City project.
Regulations mandate that the concerned agencies plant 10 saplings for every tree cut down. While agencies do plant saplings, the survival rate stands at only 73%.