NGT Forms Panel to Investigate Illegal Tree Felling on Kanwar Route

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has established a four-member panel to investigate illegal tree felling along a 111-km Kanwar route in Uttar Pradesh. The panel will assess the veracity of allegations, including the cutting of over one lakh trees, and ensure that no further illegal activities occur during road construction.

The National Green Tribunal has set up a four-member joint panel to investigate allegations of illegal tree felling for the construction of the 111-km Kanwar route in Uttar Pradesh.

The state’s Chief Secretary has been instructed to ensure no illegal felling occurs. The NGT was addressing a case involving alleged illicit cutting of over one lakh trees and shrubs in protected forest areas across Ghaziabad, Meerut, and Muzaffarnagar districts for road construction from Muradnagar to Purkaji, near the Uttarakhand border. The joint committee includes the Forest Survey of India’s director, a senior scientist from the Union Environment Ministry, a representative from the UP Chief Secretary's office, and the Meerut District Magistrate. NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted photographs and reports showing tree uprooting with JCB machines, and prior ministry rejections of road proposals due to environmental concerns.

The bench, comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel, cited past findings that previously planned projects would harm local vegetation and wildlife habitats. Akash Vashishtha, counsel for the intervenors, stressed the environmental importance of preserving trees along the upper Ganga canal. The assistant solicitor general admitted around 33,000 trees were to be felled, with 17,450 already cut, though it’s unclear if authorities recorded geo-coordinates pre- and post-felling.

The tribunal mandated the joint committee to visit the site, verify the felling allegations, and assess the road’s feasibility, ensuring it complies with the permissible width. The findings must be reported within four weeks. The Chief Secretary must ensure no further illegal tree felling, and the Surveyor General of India is required to provide satellite images to confirm the extent of deforestation.