E-Paper
NGT directs Punjab to make policy regarding illegal axing of trees
The NGT has set a deadline of three months for the officials to submit the formulated policies and guidelines.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the chief secretary, Punjab to issue appropriate instructions to the forest department for formulating a policy regarding the unlawful felling of trees.
The order comes on a petition filed by the city’s environmental activists. The NGT has set a deadline of three months for the officials to submit the formulated policies and guidelines.
Petitioners Kuldeep Singh Khaira and Amandeep Singh Bains said that they had filed the petition before the NGT to address the issue of illegal cutting of trees in various areas of the state. They pointed out that the absence of tree numbering made it challenging to trace and penalise offenders involved in unauthorised felling.
They emphasised the necessity of a proper mechanism to record the number of trees in the city, in accordance with the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, and Article 51A of the Indian Constitution.
In response to the complaint, the NGT constituted a joint committee, including principal chief conservator of forests in Punjab, to prepare a report on the appropriate mechanism to take action against violators. The committee’s report indicated that there was no existing legal provision or mechanism to penalise offenders engaged in illicit tree cutting and pruning.
Following the committee’s findings, the NGT directed the chief secretary of Punjab to instruct the forest department to formulate a policy based on the Tree Protection Act of Delhi, with necessary modifications as deemed fit by the authorities concerned.
Additionally, the concerned departments were strictly instructed not to permit any illegal tree felling in their respective regions until a proper act was enacted. Officials were directed to take necessary action against violators involved in the illegal cutting of trees.
