Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has established a committee to investigate allegations of unlawful tree felling on the premises of the civil surgeon’s office in Jalandhar, Punjab. This action comes in response to a plea highlighting the unauthorized removal of 20 heritage trees, estimated to be between 100 and 150 years old, by the Punjab Public Works Department (PWD) last month.
The complaint, filed by activist Tejaswi Minhas, alleged that 14 trees were cut down before September 16 without any required permissions, with an additional six trees felled later. The NGT’s bench, led by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, noted the critical environmental significance of these trees, stating, “Jalandhar has hardly any forest cover, and these heritage trees were the lungs of the city”. The bench raised concerns about the alleged complicity of the PWD and contractors in this illegal activity, emphasizing the substantial environmental issues raised in the plea.
The NGT has constituted a joint committee composed of representatives from the Central Pollution Control Board, the Chandigarh regional office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the principal chief conservator of forests in Mohali, and the district magistrate of Jalandhar. The Committee is tasked with visiting the site verifying the truthfulness of the allegations, identifying those responsible for the tree felling, and examining the existing mechanisms in Punjab to prevent unauthorized tree removals in non-forest areas. The tribunal has directed the committee to submit its report within eight weeks.