Hundreds of trees felled illegally in yard of closed factory in Greater Noida

GB Nagar forest dept has issued a notice to a supervisor found at the site and sought legal documents to ascertain the ownership of the premises

Hundreds of fully-grown trees on the premises of a closed factory near Yamaha and close to the Surajpur wetland in Greater Noida were chopped by unidentified persons, alleged environmental activists, adding that the three were felled without taking permission from the forest department.

An environmentalist alleged that at least 1,000 trees were felled and loaded on to trucks in broad daylight from the yard. (HT Photo)

Taking cognisance of the matter, Gautam Budh Nagar forest department issued a notice to a supervisor found at the site during inspections and sought legal documents on the ownership of the place. Further legal action will be initiated following a perusal of documents, said officials.

The factory area measures around 1,200 bighas and some companies were in talks with the factory owners regarding the purchase of the property. Activists alleged that it could have been these prospective buyer groups that engaged in the illegal felling of trees.

“It has come to our notice that a private agency cut down several fully grown trees to clear the space after ”purchasing” the factory, which remained shut for several years. However, no permission was not obtained from the forest department for the activity,” said Pramod Srivastava, divisional forest officer (DFO), Gautam Budh Nagar.

Forest officials informed that a response has been sought from the persons concerned over the illegal activity and a case has also been registered in this regard.

“During a site inspection, a supervisor of the company was found at the spot and that persons has been asked to produce the details of ownership by Thursday. A case has been registered under the Tree Protection Act, 1976, Section 4 and 10. Further legal action will be initiated based on details of ownership,” said Srivastava.

A local environmentalist alleged that around 1,000 trees were cut at the site. “As per our analysis, around 1,000 fully-grown trees of various varieties were cut at the site and the felled trees were being loaded into vehicles in broad daylight. The forest department has now swung into action and sought a response from the owners,” said local environment activist Vikrant Tongad.

“We have also brought the matter to the notice of Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate and the police. Now, we have appealed to the departments to carry out inspections of the property to ascertain the number of trees felled and ensure that the persons responsible carry out afforestation activities that are ten times the numver of trees felled,” he said.