Shimla-Kalka four-laning: 34,000 trees to face axe

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 21

The dream of thousands of commuters, including tourists, to cut the travel time between Shimla and Chandigarh to just two hours will cost the state more than 34,000 green trees.

Sources said more than 6,000 green trees would face the axe on the 27.5-km Kaithlighat-Dhalli section of the ambitious project. The work was awarded to a private firm for Rs 1,480 crore in August 2017, which is yet to start.

The actual “tree toll” and damage to saplings and small shrubs may go up, when the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) completes the entire project, which may take another four years as the Shimla-Chandigarh four-lane project may take equal number of years to complete because of a few hurdles, NHAI sources said.

“More than 66 hectare forest land is under the project and the exact loss to the forest and tree cover will be assessed only after the completion of the work,” a forest official said.

According to sources, the NHAI has already cut over 12,000 green trees on the 40-km Parwanoo-Solan stretch and another 500 trees would be cut as soon as the work on the highway begins. “More than 6,000 green trees will face the axe on the Kaithlighat-Dhalli section of the ambitious project for which all central and state agencies have given their nod,” sources said.

Even as the work on the Parwanoo-Solan highway stretch is on, the NHAI is yet to start the work on the Kaithlighat-Dhalli stretch. The work was awarded to private Chetak construction firm in 2017, which has to complete it in 30 months from the day it starts work, sources said.

The NHAI, however, has cleared all hurdles over the land acquisition for the Kathlighat-Dhalli stretch.

“More than 6,000 small and big trees will be cut on this stretch and the NHAI has got all clearances — forest and environment,” a source said.