Thursday, 12 May 2022 | PNS | Nainital
The Uttarakhand high court has stayed the planned felling of 2,057 trees for widening of the road from Jogiwala Chowk to Sahastradhara in Dehradun. While directing the State government to submit its reply within four weeks, the division bench of acting chief justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and justice RC Khulbe ordered the stay hearing on a public interest litigation filed by Dehradun resident Ashish Garg.
According to the case details, Garg had filed the PIL stating that 2,057 trees are proposed to be cut for widening the road from Jogiwala to Sahastradhara Road via Khirsali Chowk. The petitioner states that the Doon valley is already suffering the effects of climatic changes with heat islands developing in various places and a marked rise in temperature being experienced. On the one hand, Sahastradhara is known for its cool waters and environment while on the other hand such proposed felling of trees will make the entire route to Sahastradhara bereft of trees and barren, the petitioner states.
It is pertinent to mention here that new infrastructural projects like the road widening project in question have elicited considerable objection from concerned citizens and various public groups for the large scale tree felling involved. Citizens have held at least two protests at the site to oppose the proposed felling of trees for widening the road to Sahastradhara. It is also worth mentioning here that apart from citizens, even political leaders have acknowledged that Dehradun has undergone major changes due to axing of trees and environmental degradation along with rising population pressure especially since the creation of Uttarakhand.
