E-Paper
Tree felling ban in Punjab: HC modifies its Dec order
For now, NHAI has been allowed to cut trees for its Abohar-Fazilka national highway, which the agency has been citing as a critical project along the international border with Pakistan over a stretch of 100 km.
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday modified its December 24 order, banning cutting of trees across Punjab.
Acting on the pleas from the Punjab government, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and various other such bodies, the high court bench of justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry refused to lift the ban completely and said it would be allowed on case-to-case basis.
For now, NHAI has been allowed to cut trees for its Abohar-Fazilka national highway, which the agency has been citing as a critical project along the international border with Pakistan over a stretch of 100 km.
NHAI had submitted the clearance accorded by the Centre and also placed on record the mandatory afforestation it was to undertake as per norms.
The court also gave Punjab three weeks to decide the application of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) seeking cutting of 4,000 trees for a solar plant project.
BBMB had argued that due to the December 24 order, permissions from the state government were not being granted even as the department concerned was approached in August 2025.
As of the state government, it has been allowed to carry out cutting of trees for agri-forest activities. It has also been allowed to remove dead-decaying trees. However, the court did not agree with the contentions of state’s advocate general MS Bedi that the state be allowed cutting of trees, where permissions had been given as per the policy.
The detailed order has yet to be released from the high court in which the areas, where permission has been granted, would be spelt out.
Expressing concern over the depleting green cover in the state, the high court in December had stayed felling of trees for projects and other activities.
The court, while passing the order, had observed that even Rajasthan had a 4.8% green cover of the total geographical area, whereas Punjab and Haryana had less than that.
“... (the kind of) environmental degradation the state is getting into, it appears it may cross the point of no return and restore environmental and ecological balance,” the bench had recorded while passing the order.
The order was passed on a petition from Shubham Singh seeking the quashing of a recent decision of the Mohali administration in which 251 trees were to be cut for building three roundabouts near Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan, Sector 78/79, and near CP-67 mall by Greater Mohali Development Authority (GMADA).
The PIL had pointed out that the large-scale deforestation being carried out by the authorities is having a grave and irreversible impact on Punjab’s fragile ecology, biodiversity, and climate resilience.
During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsels had opposed grant of relaxation of cutting of trees to government and other such agencies. They had argued that no audit was being conducted of afforestation in lieu of cutting of trees. It had also raised questions over policy on cutting of trees and argued that in some cases even heritage trees are being cut.
