Approval granted for axing 462 lifeless trees, HC told

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 23

Nearly four years after a 20-year-old girl’s leg was amputated after a branch fell on her in Sector 17, the Punjab and Haryana High Court was today told that the Chandigarh Administration’s proposal for axing 462 dead and dry trees at 40 locations in the city had been approved.

The process of cutting 153 such trees was being initiated.

The Bench of Justice Rajan Gupta was also told that in all, 615 dead and dry trees at 72 different locations in the city had been identified. The Bench was told that 2,569 gullies had been covered by the engineering department at different places in the city. The work of filling potholes too had been initiated.

Taking up the matter, Justice Gupta fixed November 13 as the next date of hearing in the matter. The court was earlier told that an exercise had been undertaken to identify trees that have outlived and required to be removed at the earliest.

The court was also informed that an exercise was being undertaken to remove all other public hazards, such as dead trees and potholes at the earliest.

On a previous date of hearing, Justice Gupta had made clear the court’s intent to examine whether lengthy procedure was required to be followed for removing lifeless trees when safety was an issue.

Enlarging the scope of the petition, Justice Gupta had also declared that the High Court would examine other safety hazards.

The developments took place on a petition filed by Kajal against the Chandigarh Administration. The Bench was told that she visited the Sector 17 Plaza on September 15, 2013, at about 7 pm when a heavy branch of a dead tree was snapped due to the windy weather and fell on her, causing severe injuries. She was rushed to the GMSH in Sector 16 before being shifted to the trauma centre at the PGI.

But her right leg below the knee had to be amputated due to torso metatarsal dislocation and other injuries.

The Bench was told that the occupant of an SCO, in front of which the tree was located, had submitted a representation way back in May 2013. He had stated that the dead branch was required to be removed but the Municipal Corporation turned a blind eye.

Justice Gupta observed the petitioner was now seeking compensation on the grounds that her entire life had been ruined due to the failure of the Administration to act in time.

The MC, on the other hand, claimed that trees in the city could not be cut unless permission from the Adviser to the Administrator was obtained in view of instructions dated November 12, 1992, and February 23, 1999.

Next hearing on Nov 13

• The Bench of Justice Rajan Gupta was told that the process of cutting 153 such trees was being initiated
• Besides, 2,569 road gullies had been covered by the engineering department at different places in the city
• The work of filling potholes too had been initiated
• The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for November 13