Trees lopped, activists write to CM demanding action

A group of environmentalists in Jalandhar has written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dharminder Sharma, the Municipal Corporation (MC), Deputy Commissioner (DC), and other senior officials, protesting the lopping of 10 trees in Urban Estate Phase 1 and other recent instances of indiscriminate deforestation in the city.

The activists have demanded that MCs across Punjab issue challans and register FIRs against individuals indulging in illegal tree cutting with impunity. They have also sought disciplinary action against officers who have failed to address such complaints.

In their letter to the CM, dated November 30, members of the Jalandhar-based NGO AGAPP, including activist Navneet Bhullar, highlighted that complaints regarding tree cutting have gone unaddressed for the past 13 months. “Trees continue to be chopped or lopped despite repeated alerts,” the letter states.

The activists cited multiple cases: one flagged in November 2024, the lopping of 30 trees in Urban Estate on January 8, another involving 12 trees in two parks on November 10 this year, and most recently, the lopping of 10 trees around November-end in Urban Estate Phase 1.

Navneet Bhullar alleged, “At least 10 fully grown trees were lopped in Urban Estate Phase 1, leaving only trunks and branch stumps.” She further claimed that SDO (Horticulture) Inderjit Singh did not respond to her calls or messages. While PCCF Dharminder Sharma dispatched the DFO, who then sent a Block Forest Officer, the official expressed shock at the mutilated trees but said the area was outside his jurisdiction. “He gave me the number of an MC official in charge of parks, but that number is not working,” Bhullar added.

The letter urges the state to issue challans and register FIRs against citizens indulging in illegal deforestation, take disciplinary action against MC Jalandhar’s Horticulture Department for “negligence” over 13 months, nstall large billboards and make loudspeaker announcements declaring damage to trees a punishable offence under BNS Section 324 and enact a comprehensive Punjab Tree Protection Act with non-bailable prison sentences for tree “murderers” and “mutilators” in urban and rural areas.

Speaking to The Tribune, Bhullar said, “Some diligent officers respond — the DC issued an order earlier not to cut trees without permission, and the PCCF dispatched an official immediately days ago. Yet, lopping continues even today, and there is no deterrent. We alone have flagged six to seven cases, and violations persist.”