SC asks Forest Research Institute to conduct tree census in Taj Trapezium Zone
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) authority to appoint the Forest Research Institute (FRI) to carry out a tree census in the area, saying the penal provisions against violators couldn’t be implemented without data of existing trees.
The TTZ, an area of 10,400 square-km approximately, spreads across Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras, and Etah districts in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district in Rajasthan.
“This data can be made available through tree census. We direct TTZ authority to appoint Forest Research Institute at Dehradun as an authority to carry out tree census of all existing trees in the area of TTZ. The formal order shall be passed within a week,” a Bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice N Kotiswar Singh said while hearing a plea on unauthorised felling of trees in TTZ.
The plea raised environmental concerns and underlined the need for preservation of historical monuments, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, The Taj Mahal, and its surrounding areas.
Noting that the object of the UP Protection of Trees Act, 1976 was to protect the trees and not to fell or cut the trees, the Bench said without a tree census there cannot be any effective implementation of the provisions of 1976 Act.
Earlier, the top court had on December 19 last year ordered a census of trees in the national capital with the help of the FRI.
Known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Taj Mahal is situated within the TTZ area. It was built between 1632 and 1653 by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal who had died in 1631 while giving birth to their 14th child.
Since the filing of a PIL by noted lawyer and environmentalist MC Mehta in 1985, the top court has been passing orders, including closure of polluting industries in TTZ in general and Agra in particular, for conservation of the Taj Mahal.
Earlier, the top court had outlined the need for a census of existing trees and a mechanism to keep a vigil to ensure trees in the TTZ were not illegally felled.
“Prima facie, we are of the view that there needs to be a census of existing trees in the Taj Trapezium Zone and there needs to be a mechanism for keeping a vigil for ensuring that there is no unauthorised felling of trees,” it had said.
Earlier, the top court had said it would order demolition and restore the land or the highways to its original status, if its direction over compulsory afforestation in the TTZ was not complied with by the authorities.
