Six months on, no tree census in Ludhiana

Witnessing MC’s inaction on the issue, the petitioners plan to submit another application during the upcoming NGT hearing on April 5

Over six months after municipal corporation (MC) assured National Green Tribunal (NGT) to complete the tree census across the city by December 2023, it is yet to even initiate the process.

MC had initially assured to complete the task by December 2023, but no action has been taken so far. (HT)

Acting on the petition submitted by the Council of Engineers, in August 2023, NGT had ordered MC to do a survey of the number of trees amid reports of illegal tree cutting in the city. MC had initially assured to complete the task by December 2023, but to no avail.

Witnessing MC’s inaction on the issue, the petitioners plan to submit another application during the upcoming NGT hearing on April 5.

According to petitioners, Kapil Arora, JS Gill, and Kuldeep Khaira, the NGT had directed the MC officials to conduct a comprehensive tree counting process in response to petitions filed against encroachments on green belts in the city. The NGT had also instructed the MC to submit a report detailing the status of parks and green belts under its maintenance.

In their response, the MC had filed a report last year claiming that plantation of over 2 lakh plants and shrubs was done over a span of five years from 2019-2023 in 892 public parks across the city. However, despite this submission, concerns about illegal tree cutting persist as no data for the overall tree census in the city was provided.

The petition filed by environmental activists emphasises the vital role of trees in maintaining ecological balance and mitigating environmental degradation. Highlighting the urgency of the preservation of the city’s greenery, the petitioners stated that trees were essential for air purification and in supporting biodiversity.

President of the Council of Engineers Kapil Arora criticised the MC’s inaction, stating that the delay undermines the NGT’s directives and hampers efforts to combat deforestation and promote sustainable development.

Meanwhile, Kirpal Singh, a junior engineer at the MC, mentioned that while they have provided information about planted plants and parks, the actual counting process has yet not commenced. “The MC is considering outsourcing this task to a third-party company for execution,” he added.