E-Paper
NH-2 widening to claim 25,000 trees in Faridabad dist
The greenery along Mathura Road in Faridabad district is going to be shortlived as about 25,000 trees are being axed to widen National Highway number 2.
The greenery along Mathura Road in Faridabad district is going to be shortlived as about 25,000 trees are being axed to widen National Highway number 2. The number could be much higher as Mathura Road will be widened in Palwal district as well. A large number of trees will also fall in a fortnight as work on the 13.8-kilometre Badarpur-YMCA Metro link progresses.
The mega-widening project of National Highway 2 up to Agra from Faridabad has been awarded to a private firm.
The Haryana government forest department confirmed that trees would have to be felled to widen Mathura Road.
"I am not sure about the exact number. But what I know is that roughly 25,000 trees will be cut in Faridabad district alone for widening of Mathura Road," said V. Tyagi, DFO Faridabad.
Sources said the Haryana forest department has cleared the project whereas its UP counterpart is yet to give the go-ahead to cutting of trees.
"We are waiting for clearance from the Uttar Pradesh government so that work on widening of Mathura Road starts," an NHAI official said.
Sources said the National Highway Authority of India has to compensate the damage caused to the environment by planting trees in 149 acres of land in Mewat district. As work on the Badarpur-YMCA Chowk metro link has already started, cutting of tree along this route is likely to begin within a fortnight.
"The tree cutting process is likely to start in a fortnight," said Manoj Vajpayee, project incharge of the Faridabad metro line.
However, he could not specify the number of trees that would be cut on this route.
