FOREST TEAM TO PROBE TREES AXED FOR FLYOVER AT PARTHALA CHOWK

NOIDA: The Gautam Budh Nagar forest department formed a three-member team to investigate the alleged illegal felling of trees at Parthala Chowk where the Noida authority is constructing an 800metre flyover, said forest officials on Thursday.

Around 2,000 trees came in the way of the project. In May, the department permitted the contractor to either axe or transplant 217 trees and compulsorily transplant 1,818 trees. At least 200 of 217 trees allowed to be felled were neem, while 10 were amaltas. Earlier this month, citybased environmentalists alleged that the contractor had felled more trees than permitted.

A range forest officer inspected the area and confirmed that two neem trees were felled illegally, following which the contractor shelled out a penalty of ₹50,000 to the department, said officials. Neem is one of the 29 tree species that are protected in UP and require the prior approval of the forest department for felling them.

“There is a possibility that more trees were axed. Hence, the forest department formed a three-member team to look into the matter. The trees allowed to be felled were over 10 years old,” said PK Srivastava, divisional forest officer, Gautam Budh Nagar. “The contractor was allowed to fell 217 trees if they could not transplant them, but had to mandatorily transplant 1,818 trees.”

Environmentalists believe that even those meant to be transplanted were not moved properly. “Even the big trees, which are being axed, could have been transplanted scientifically like in the Central Vista project. Besides, the plants which are being transplanted are simply being uprooted using earth moving machines that minimises their chances of survival,” said city-based environmentalist Vikrant Tongad.

Forest officials said that most trees were transplanted to green belts nearby. They said they will levy additional penalty on the contractor if the trees do not survive. Despite several attempts, Noida authority officials could not be reached for comment.