Five trees axed in Ludhiana, authorities deny granting permission for felling

Five fully grown trees that provided shade to hundreds of daily commuters on the busy Rani Jhansi Road, Ludhiana, were axed late on Monday night. According to local residents, the trees were over 40 years old. The incident reportedly occurred in the presence of officials from the Horticulture Department of the Municipal Corporation (MC) and staff of the PSPCL.

A government official, requesting anonymity, claimed that permission for the cutting had been granted by the Deputy Commissioner and the MC Commissioner, as the trees were allegedly posing a threat to commuters. The official said an application was filed by a resident, outside whose house the trees were located.

Notably, in October 2025, a leading industrialist had submitted the application to the authorities concerned, stating that the trees posed a risk to passers-by, with branches reportedly entangled in a nearby transformer. The application sought permission to shift the trees, with the applicant offering to bear the entire expenditure for the relocation. A copy of the application is with The Tribune.

Following the complaint, meetings were convened by senior officials and an 11-member committee was constituted to assess the situation before arriving at any conclusion. The process was initiated during the tenure of the then MC Commissioner Aditya Dachalwal.

However, the Deputy Commissioner, Himanshu Jain, said he had not granted permission to anyone to cut the trees.

MC Commissioner Neeru Katyal said the Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana (MCL) had received an application highlighting concerns over public safety. She clarified that permission had been granted only to shift the trees to an alternative location at the applicant’s expense, ensuring proper care of the trees, prevention of infrastructure damage and public safety.

“No permission for tree cutting has been granted. If any violation of the granted permission has taken place, it will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken,” she added.

The axing of the trees has sparked concern among environmentalists, who stated that if it was established that the trees were felled without due permission, they would take up the matter with the authorities concerned. Kuldip Khaira of the Public Action Committee

said shifting and cutting of trees were entirely different matters and the issue would be examined in detail.