7,300 trees in Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib being axed to make way for 4-laned highway, greens urge CM Mann for a rethink

With the state having only a miniscule 3.67 per cent of its area under forest cover as against the national requirement of 33 per cent, environmentalists are not happy with the idea of an afforestation drive to be undertaken by the forest department. The forest authorities have claimed that they would be planting over 60,000 saplings in Hoshiarpur and Ropar to make up for the loss. The activists have aired concern over the development at a cost of reduced oxygen levels in the state with only a minimum forest cover in the country.

Punjab is only next to Haryana to have the least share of forest cover in the country.

Environmentalist Samita Kaur told The Indian Express that it is hard to digest that saplings are being planted at some other locations as Hoshiarpur and Ropar are situated 150 km and 50 km away from the highway.

“What about the green cover of this area? Imagine, how many years will it take for the saplings to become fully grown trees and release adequate oxygen. Those saplings can’t even inhale the amount of carbon dioxide which these trees are doing as of now,” she pointed out.

Sumit Gupta, another Chandigarh-based environment activist had also been fighting for this cause. He said,”several communications have been done with the government and strangely, they are not ready to address this issue.”

Retired Colonel Jasjit Singh Gill, another environmental activist, said, the citizens are concerned about the depleting green cover of Punjab, which is just 3.67 per cent as per the 2021 figures. “We are worried about the environmental degradation in Punjab – be it the green cover of Punjab, water availability or soil fertility,” he said.

He pointed out that 65 per cent of the rain in the region comes due to evapotranspiration from trees. “Hence the very idea of plantation in lieu of chopping is hard to understand. We have not been able to see all that plantation done in lieu of several thousand trees already chopped in the past to make way for many other highways,” Gill said.

Sources revealed that the forest cover has further reduced in the subsequent years but the latest data is yet to be entered in the records.

According to the National Forest Policy of India, the ideal percentage of the total geographical area under the forest should be at least 33 per cent to maintain ecological stability “You can see the huge difference in standard forest cover which is needed and what we currently have,” said Samita pointing out that the trees being chopped are of Rosewood, Eucalyptus, Banyan etc.

Alternatives suggested by activists

Col (retd) Jasjit Singh Gill suggested alternatives for the project: Instead of axing trees, the government should think about ways to acquire a parallel area treating the present tree line width as a median and the land on the other side can be acquired to widen the roads. “Today this will cost more but good clean air, rain and a good environment come at a cost,” he mentioned. He even suggested full transplantation of the trees in which survival rate is about 50-60 per cent.

In a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the activists have sought a modification of the project so that no fully-grown trees are axed. They said the project in the current form will result in environmental degradation of Punjab and will have a detrimental impact on all people residing in Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala districts.

What the authorities say:

According to Patiala Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmed Parray, the project has got the environmental clearance and compensatory plantation has already been started.

However the matter is being raised by NGOs like Sambh Sambhal Foundation and their members had met Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi and Patiala MLA and Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh seeking a ban on the felling of trees. It is learnt that a public action committee has filed a complaint in the National Green Tribunal as well.