The Uttarakhand High Court on Friday took a strict view of the felling of nearly 4,400 trees for the construction of the Rishikesh–Bhaniyawala four-lane road and directed the state government, the Centre and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to convene a meeting and place their suggestions before the court.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Subhash Upadhyay passed the direction after being informed that earlier orders of the court had not been complied with. The petitioner told the bench that neither had the felled trees been transplanted nor were wildlife underpasses being constructed in accordance with prescribed norms.
After hearing the submissions, the bench asked the state and central governments along with the NHAI to hold a joint meeting to resolve the issues raised and submit their suggestions to the court. The matter has been listed for further hearing on December 30.
The public interest litigation was filed by Dehradun resident Reenu Pal, who said more than 3,000 trees have been identified for felling for widening the road between Rishikesh and Bhaniyawala. She pointed out that the stretch falls within an elephant corridor and warned that large-scale tree felling could adversely impact elephants and other wildlife by disrupting their daily movement and habitat.
The petitioner also reminded the court that, following earlier intervention by the High Court, the Shivalik Elephant Reserve had been protected, and similar safeguards were required to prevent ecological damage from the road project.
