HC SEEKS STATUS REPORT ON GZB CITY FOREST AREA
GHAZIABAD: The Allahabad high court has stepped in and sought a status report from the Ghaziabad municipal corporation on the city forest near GT Road adjacent to river Hindon while continuing to hear a plea, which has claimed that the forest area was getting destroyed.
On May 9, the court directed that the report be submitted by May 24 and also asked the civic agency about the status of the sewage treatment plant (STP), which the court had earlier directed the civic body to construct in order to prevent untreated water from reaching river Hindon. The petition was filed in 2012 by councillor Rajendra Tyagi seeking the court’s intervention in restoring the city forest, which is currently spread across 110 acres. In 2008, hundreds of trees in the forest area were destroyed after sewage overflowed from a major city drain passing through the green area. The green area was declared a city forest in Master Plan 2021 and the land vests with the civic body. In 2012, the Ghaziabad Development Authority also planned to develop a golf course in the green area and Tyagi intervened with his PIL, after which the court directed a status quo in the area. “The PIL was moved for the protection of the city forest and also the restoration of thousands of trees that were destroyed in 2008. Despite clear directions by the high court in 2012, the corporation did not take the steps required. Now, the court has asked for a status report and we will seek compliance of its directions,” said Raj Nagar councillor Tyagi.
In October 11, 2012, the high court directed that a cemented canal be constructed to channel the sewage overflow in the forest area so that it does not destroy the greenery. The court directed that an STP be constructed so that river Hindon is not polluted.
On May 9, the court directed the corporation “to file latest status report of the protected forest in the heart of the Ghaziabad city and also the status of the disposal of sewage water into Hindon river especially stating as to whether any sewage treatment plant has been set up before disposal of the treated water into Hindon river and the capacity thereof.”