In Gurgaon, trees axed with impunity

Though Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) recently announced plans to make Iffco Chowk greener, attempts to save existing trees seemed to have fallen flat.

Though Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) recently announced plans to make Iffco Chowk greener, attempts to save existing trees seemed to have fallen flat.

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And the problem area is Sector 56, located just a stone’s throw away from the HUDA office.

At a considerably long stretch between Hong Kong market and Kendriya Vihar, there is a boulevard which is gradually losing its thick cover.

A bicycle mechanic who sits there told Hindustan Times that a group of village women visit the place when it’s dark, chop trees and quickly dump the wood into a tractor. While on some days, they come at 4am, at other times, they are also spotted at 6am.

When this mechanic tried to confront them, he was threatened to be beaten up. “They are very strong women. They would have thrashed me, had I resisted,” he said in a fearful tone.

It has been speculated that the women cut trees for firewood as they used to frequent the Kendriya Vihar area in the winter and of late, their visits have plummeted substantially.

“There are more than 100 trees which have been cut by some rogue people. This should be stopped immediately. The Sector 56 road leading to Sohna is also falling short of trees even though thousands of saplings can be planted on that stretch. We appeal to the authorities to take note of this,” said Deepak Sharma, a resident of Sanskriti apartments.

Moreover, executive engineer (horticulture) VK Nirala is completely unaware of this. “I haven’t got any (such) complaint (pertaining to the cutting of trees),” he said.