Trees illegally Felled at Government Office in Faridabad: NGT

The National Green Tribunal has observed that several trees were illegally felled in the premises of the office of the deputy director of animal husbandry and dairying in Haryana's Faridabad.

The green body was hearing a plea alleging unauthorised cutting of some pipal (sacred fig) trees at the instance of the deputy director along with the range officer and contractor.

The plea submitted that though permission to cut shisham (Indian Rosewood) and miscellaneous trees was granted, there was no permission to cut pipal trees

In December last year, the tribunal had constituted a joint committee to ascertain the number and extent of illegal tree felling, the types of trees that had been cut and the permission obtained from the competent authority.

The joint committee comprised member secretary, Central Pollution Control Board, and the Chandigarh regional office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

In an order dated February 3, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said the committee filed its report on January 31 and according to it permission was given only for "transplanting" eight ficus trees and not for cutting them.

The bench also comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Afroz Ahmad said according to the committee report, the conditions had been violated by cutting down three pipal trees.

The report recommended the state government could take appropriate action and the divisional forest officer (DFO) could be directed to take the requisite action for violating the conditions for the permission, the bench noted.

"The report reveals that though permission was for transplanting five pipal trees, violating the same, three pipal trees have been cut," the bench said.

The counsels for the authorities sought four weeks to file their objections or response to the committee's report.

Allowing the same, the tribunal posted the matter for further proceedings on April 28.