Heritage trees more beneficial than construction of railway over-bridges: Committee
The 300 heritage trees that are to be chopped for the construction of five railway over-bridges in West Bengal are valued at Rs. 2.2 billion in terms of oxygen and other products they offer, which means a living tree will be more beneficial than the project, an expert committee has told the Supreme Court. A heritage tree takes decades or centuries to mature.
Five proposed bridges are part of Setu Bharatam Mega Project
The five proposed bridges are part of a Setu Bharatam Mega Project financed by the Centre to build 208 rail over/under bridges across 19 states in the country with a sanctioned cost of Rs. 20,800 crore.
A heritage tree's valuation determined by various factors
The five-member committee told a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde that a heritage tree serves the civil society and the environment and its valuation can be reached on various counts including oxygen, micro-nutrients, compost, and bio-fertilizer. "If all costs are added and multiplied by the remaining age of a tree, the grand total would be Rs. 74,500 per tree year," it added.
300 trees will give products worth Rs. 2.2 billion
The committee said, "This means that 300 trees if allowed to live for a period of 100 or more years, will give products worth Rs. 2,23,50,00,000 or Rs. 2.2 billion. This is the future value of 300 trees."
Will need to cut down 4,056 trees in future
The committee said, "If the entire stretch of 59.2-kilometer road is taken into consideration, which will become congested in a decade or so, authorities will be forced to widen its width and 4,056 trees will be required to be cut down." "In that case, the cost of products over 100 years will be Rs. 30.21 billion," it added
Environmental impact assessment wasn't done
The committee informed the apex court that before implementing a project of national importance, environmental impact assessment (EIA) is desired and this has not been done in West Bengal. The committee said that state authorities are considering the project as an independent project which affects a distance of 59.2 kilometers only from Barasat to Bongaon.
'EIA not required for road projects less than 100 kilometers'
The committee said, "According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest if a road project has a length less than 100 km, there is no need to get EIA from any government agency. Such an argument is an attempt to circumvent the law of the land." According to the committee members, EIA should be taken up before starting project-related work.
Top court considers laying down protocol for road widening projects
Noting the submissions, the top court observed that it would consider laying down a protocol to be followed for projects like road widening projects which require cutting of trees so that there is minimum damage to the environment. The bench has now posted the matter for hearing on February 18.
Apex Court had formed a committee of environmental experts earlier
The observation was related to the felling of over 350 trees for the construction of railway over-bridges and widening of National Highway 112 along the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal. For this, the apex court had earlier formed a committee of environment experts to suggest an alternative. The committee is headed by Dr. Soham Pandya of the Centre of Science For Village, Wardha.
No alternatives explored before granting permission to fell trees: APDR
Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) earlier said that no alternatives were explored and permission was granted to fell the trees, which aged around 80-100 years. He said that everyone knows about global warming and cited a study that says if the vegetation is not protected then in the next 10-20 years the human species will be in danger.
Calcutta HC had paved way for widening of NH 112
The Calcutta High Court in August 2018 had paved the way for the widening of NH 112 and allowed the felling of over 350 trees for the widening of Jessore Road, connecting the city to Petrapole, on the condition that five trees will be planted for each tree cut. The NH 112 or Jessore Road is an important link between India and Bangladesh.
Hundreds of old trees line both sides of the road
The State Government had undertaken a project to widen the road. Hundreds of old trees line both sides of the road, and it was decided to fell some to widen it. A PIL was moved before the High Court against the decision. After arguments for several months, the High Court allowed the felling of 356 trees at five places from Barasat to Petrapole.
