E-Paper
Cut a tree, pay Rs 60,000 fine in Gurgaon
Many of those who cut trees without any fear may soon get to know its real value if the Haryana government clears a proposal by the forest department, reports Sanjeev K Ahuja.
Many of those who cut trees without any fear may soon get to know its real value if the Haryana government clears a proposal by the forest department.
An offender may have to pay penalty charges as high as Rs 60,000 for cutting a grown up tree in Gurgaon. The proposal is pending with the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) for statutory clearance.
The penalty at present for cutting a tree in Gurgaon is between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,500 per tree. Forest department officials said it was because of this small amount that people have no fear of law and cut trees undeterred.
Recently, the state government had invoked steep rise in penalty charges from the earlier Rs 50 to Rs 21,000 per square metre for destroying greenery from any type of forest land under various sections of Punjab Land Preservation Act. A forest official said, “Now we have proposed that those cutting trees should be charged the cost of trees at the market price and also made to pay a heavy penalty.”
