Amid blanket ban on tree felling, HC sets up panel to assess axing of trees for Mohali roundabouts

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday directed the setting up a commission to examine the trees proposed to be axed for the construction of roundabouts in Mohali. The direction came amid high court’s blanked ban on the felling of trees without its consent.

The matter was placed before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry as the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) was seeking permission to fell 251 trees for building three roundabouts on the PR 7 road at accident-prone junctions in SAS Nagar.

The Bench made it clear that the commission would comprise nominees of the Punjab Advocate-General, GMADA, the Forest Department, and counsel appearing in the matter. Among other things, it would carry out inspection within four days before submitting a detailed report next week.

The counsel for GMADA, during the course of hearing, submitted that the roundabouts were proposed to deal with traffic congestion and even fatal accidents. The Bench was told that all statutory permissions had already been obtained. In addition to this, compensatory afforestation – five times the number of trees to be axed – had already been approved under the Punjab Tree Preservation Policy, 2024.

Taking a note of the submissions, the Bench questioned the parties concerned regarding the axing of mature and heritage species, including peepal, banyan, and neem and questioned whether alternative alignments had been seriously explored. Referring to the consequences of indiscriminate tree felling, Chief Justice Nagu questioned: “Do you want your children and grandchildren to survive or not?”

The Bench observed that human lives lost in road accidents was indeed a matter of serious concern. But environmental degradation, at the same time, could not be taken lightly. “Human lives are important, but so is the environment,” Chief Justice Nagu asserted, while making it clear that the court was required to strike a balance between development and ecological preservation.

Before parting with the order, the Bench asked the commission to place before it the maps and a bird’s-eye view of the exact location of each tree to be removed. The panel was also asked to distinguish between heritage and non-heritage trees, and to see if cutting could be avoided while still ensuing traffic safety.