Over 5,000 trees to be felled for Gurugram Metro’s Phase Two

The trees identified for removal include 949 papdi trees, 735 alstonia, 635 balam kheera, 280 teak and 241 neem trees

The Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL) has identified 5,249 trees that may need to be felled for the construction of the second phase of the Gurugram Metro from Sector 9 to Cyber City. The metro corporation has asked the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to seek permission from the forest department for their removal.

The second phase of the Gurugram Metro involves the construction of an elevated corridor of approximately 15km from Sector 9 to Cyber City. (HT Archive)

The proposed corridor passes through Old Gurugram, Palam Vihar, Sector 22 and Udyog Vihar.

In a letter to GMDA, GMRL said it had prepared an inventory of trees falling within the proposed Metro alignment and the right of way (RoW) under GMDA’s jurisdiction. It requested the authority to initiate the statutory approval process with the forest department to facilitate timely execution of the project.

According to the inventory, the trees identified for removal include 949 papdi trees, 735 alstonia, 635 balam kheera, 280 teak and 241 neem trees. The proposed construction will also affect 190 peepal and 48 banyan trees, some of which are stated to be between 60 and 70 years old.

A senior GMDA official said the authority had applied for permission to fell the trees following GMRL’s request.

“Apart from these trees, the authority has also sought permission for felling 576 trees for the metro depot in Sector 33. The metro corporation will take up compensatory afforestation in lieu of felling these trees,” the official said.

GMRL had earlier obtained permission to fell around 1,800 trees for the first phase of the Metro corridor from Millennium City Centre to Sector 9. A senior GMRL official said compensatory afforestation had already been taken up along the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway.

Meanwhile, GMDA officials said they held a detailed discussion with GMRL officials on Friday over the construction of the Metro corridor and a parallel stormwater drain along Major Sushil Aima Marg.

“The carriageway is narrow, and we discussed plans to construct the Metro track and the stormwater drain along this stretch,” a senior GMDA official said.

The second phase of the Gurugram Metro involves the construction of an elevated corridor of approximately 15km from Sector 9 to Cyber City. GMRL has floated a tender worth ₹1,662 crore for the project, with bids to be submitted between November 9 and November 18. The selected contractor will have 30 months from the award of the contract to complete the work, officials said.