CHANDIGARH
For laying a water pipeline in Amritsar, the Punjab Forest Department is going to axe 20,000 trees, Amritsar-based lawyer Ram Nath Seroha has alleged.
The project is called “Diversion of 18.54ha of forest land for project implementation unit (PIU) at Amritsar project namely, ‘Works and Operation service of 440 MLD water treatment plant and associated Transmission Network and overhead service reservoirs along with UBCD’ in Amritsar, at village Vallah to Khemkaran chon”.
As the Forest Department has given clearance to this project, 20,000 green trees would be axed. The regional office of Ministry of Environment and Forest Wildlife has initiated an inquiry over this complaint recently. In a complaint letter to NGT and MOEFCC, lawyer Seroha said, “I am a retired army personal (sic) doing practice in the Amritsar district court for the last 20 years and closely watching forest activities, including the famous Doaba Canal case in which lakhs of trees were cut in which P.C.C.F., Punjab was found guilty by the NGT. Today another such tree cutting case in Punjab should be highlighted in the Punjab Forest Department, Chandigarh.”
Pertinently, the total length of the proposed water treatment line is 12.51 km, which requires cutting of 20,000 trees, including 667 very old big trees that are more than 150 cm in diameter. However, the water pipeline required only 3.99 ha of forest area, but 14.54 ha of forest land with 11.80-meter width is being required for passing heavy vehicles/machinery during the construction of the proposed water pipeline, which the lawyer says is against the spirit of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
The letter further mentions, “The proposed project required diversion of 18.54 h.a. of protected forest land. The project raised numerous objections, but despite these objections, the project was deliberated in the Regional Empowered Committee of the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change. About 14.54 h.a. forest is only for heavy vehicle movement and only 3.99 h.a. for drinking water pipeline, by axing 20,000 trees.”
The letter states, “The project is available with project No.FP/PB/15533-4/2022 in the Parivesh Portal, the public domain of the Ministry. The total length of the proposed water treatment line is 12.51 km. which required cutting of 20,000 trees including 667 very old big trees more than 150 cm diameter. The water pipeline required only 3.99 ha forest area but 14.54 ha forest land with 11.80 meter width is being required for passing heavy vehicle/machinery during the construction of proposed water pipe line, which is against the spirit Forest Conservation Act, 1980”.
“The project is funded by the World Bank and the contract was allotted to M/s Larsen & Toubro Limited, Chennai. On 4.4.2023, the project was cleared by the Regional Empowered Committee of the Environment Ministry.”
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has asked its regional office based in Chandigarh to reply to the allegation made by lawyer Seroha, but so far the Regional Office has not sent its reply. The Sunday Guardian possesses copies of the letters of MOEFCC and the lawyer’s complaint in this regard.