88,000 trees to be felled for widening six roads

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 3

Greenery on six major roads in the state will be a thing of the past, as 88,593 trees are being felled for the expansion work.

It is claimed that double the number of saplings would be planted to make up for the loss, but shortage of space along these roads raises a question mark over the claims.

Sources in the Forest Department and Public Works Department (PWD) confirm say there is a problem of space along these roads, due to which the process to develop greenery would be shifted to another place.

The PWD has acquired Forest Department’s land along Panipat-Kundli road (National Highway 1), Yamunanagar-Saha-Barwala-Panchkula road, Ambala-Hisar road, Delhi-Hisar road and Hanumangarh-Ellenabad road, while the process to acquire land for widening the Karnal-Indri-Ladwa-Yamunanagar road is underway.

Of 88,593 trees to be axed along the six roads, 64,380 trees have been felled. The work to cut the remaining 24,213 trees is in progress.

The plan is to cut about 8,000 trees along the Yamunanagar-Saha-Barwala-Panchkula road. As for widening NH-1 from Panipat to Kundli border in Sonepat district, 16,003 trees are being uprooted.

In all, 24,087 trees along the Ambala-Hisar road are being axed and 39,852 trees on the Delhi-Hisar road are being felled.

The department had axed all 130 trees along the Hanumangarh-Ellenabad road.

Around 520 trees will be axed along the Karnal-Indri-Ladwa-Yamunanagar road.

Principal Chief Conservator, Forests, Amarinder Kaur refused to comment on the plan to maintain greenery along the six roads.