Noida: Residents’ body opposes tile interlocking for trees

Citing environmental and aesthetic benefits of trees, the DDRWA contends besides providing oxygen, they also enhance the city’s beauty

NOIDA: The District Development Residents Welfare Association (DDRWA) of Gautam Budh Nagar has opposed felling of trees at an industrial Noida sector, an exercise ongoing to facilitate the interlocking of tiles in Sector 57 of Noida.

In a letter written to Noida authority’s chief executive officer to take cognisance of the incident, the body has demanded a legal action. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

A couple of trees have been sliced at the main road that divides Sector 57 and 58, close to the Labour Chowk.

Citing environmental and aesthetic benefits of trees, the DDRWA contends besides providing oxygen, they also enhance the city’s beauty. The body has submitted a complaint to Noida authorities, demanding a proper action and an eco-friendly alterative to the requirements.

“It was shocking to see the contractor cutting down couple of fully-grown trees in the area to make way for tile interlocking work. Those trees were not only a source of shade and beauty but also a habitat for birds. It is difficult to understand how the authorities allowed this to happen without exploring alternative solutions,” said Sanjeev Kumar, vice-president, DDRWA.

The DDRWA covers various sectors in Noida, Greater Noida, and Yamuna Expressway. The exact number of sectors under DDRWA is not fixed, as new sectors are being developed and added to the association. However, according to the DDRWA website, they currently represent over 200 residential sectors in Gautam Budh Nagar district.

In a letter written to Noida authority’s chief executive officer to take cognisance of the incident, the body has demanded a legal action. The officials, meanwhile, said that the work was being carried out by a contractor related to the civil department of the Noida authority.

“As soon as it came to the notice, we reported the incident to the forest department officials and sought for legal action against the contractor concerning. We have requested to impose an environment compensation on the offender while making him plant trees wherever they were felled,” said Anand Mohan, deputy director, horticulture department, Noida authority.

Environment conservationists too have taken cognisance of the issue. “We are planning to conduct a field visit of the sector on Sunday, post which we will be reaching out to the forest department,” said Vikrant Tongad, an environment activist in Noida.

It’s not the first case of tree felling that has come to the fore. Local environment activist said that despite action being taken, the practice was rampant.

In April this year, some “unidentified people” had felled a number of fully-grown trees on the central verge (divider) of a road in Sector 137 of Noida. The forest department registered a case under UP, Protection of Trees Act, 1976, in the incident for carrying out the exercise without procuring an NOC from the department, HT had reported.