MP HC stays felling of trees home to thousands of parrots for metro rail

The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday granted an interim stay to the proposed felling of trees on a busy road in the city, which are home to thousands of parrots, for a metro rail project.

The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday granted an interim stay to the proposed felling of trees on a busy road in the city, which are home to thousands of parrots, for a metro rail project. The court also sought response from the central and state governments as well as other stakeholders. The High Court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Priyanshu Jain, president of the Indore chapter of animal welfare organisation 'People for Animals'. The petition stated that approximately 200 trees with dense foliage are at risk of being felled to construct a metro rail bridge in Rani Sarai area near Regal Square, which would deprive thousands of parrots of their natural habitat. In their order, a bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi said, ''As an interim measure, it is directed that no tree shall be cut or transplanted.....until the next date of hearing.'' The High Court fixed February 16 for the next hearing. Lavesh Saraswat, counsel for the petitioner, said the felling of trees would result in irreversible environmental degradation, loss of green cover and ecological imbalance. The action has been planned without any compliance with statutory requirements under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986, and without necessary permissions, he argued. The trees are home to thousands of parrots or parakeets which are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, said the lawyer. Construction of a 31.32-km long metro rail corridor in Indore has been underway since 2019, but the project is facing obstacles in densely populated residential and commercial areas. According to the original estimates, the project cost was Rs 7,500 crore. However, due to changes, the cost may increase significantly.

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