980 trees felled in Greater Noida: In affidavit before NGT, UP official says company ‘denied responsibility'
Nearly three months after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) observed that the illegal felling of 980 trees in Greater Noida was not taken seriously by the Uttar Pradesh authorities and also asked the principal chief conservator of forests (CCF) to appear virtually before it on May 13, he filed a detailed affidavit before the green body on Saturday.
In his affidavit, Sunil Chaudhary, CCF, Uttar Pradesh, said that on June 10, 2024, information was received regarding illegal tree felling within the compound of M/s Shakuntalam Land Craft Pvt. Ltd, Greater Noida Authority, which was formerly leased to Daewoo Company, Surajpur by the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation Limited. 'The Range Forest Officer, Dadri, Gautam Buddh Nagar was appointed as Enquiry Officer via a letter dated June 26 in this matter,' he said in the affidavit.
Following this, he added, 'the offenders were identified' and a number of notices were issued to them, including Shakuntalam Land Craft, 'between June 2024 to March 2025'. 'But Shakuntalam in its written response on February 19 denied any responsibility for illegal felling of trees,' Chaudhary's affidavit states.
Noida-based environmental activist Vikrant Tongad said that the CCF has also expressed strong displeasure with the forest department in Noida over delays and lapses in handling the case.
This development came after the green body under the bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, while hearing a plea in this matter on February 9, observed that there was no record indicating what action was been taken by the forest department to trace the timber cut from the more than 900 other trees, nor to identify the individuals responsible for their illegal felling.
The bench, also comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Afroz Ahmad, had said, 'There appears to be a lapse on the part of the authorities in this matter. Based on the manner in which the counsel for the state (of UP) is responding to the tribunal's queries, we gathered the issue related to the felling of 980 trees, which is a significant number, has not been taken seriously by the state authorities,' the bench said.
All the reports before it revealed 'unsatisfactory efforts' in the matter, the tribunal said. 'Hence, we required the principal chief conservator of forest to look into the matter personally and appear virtually before the tribunal on the next date of hearing (May 13) to apprise us about the legal status of cutting of trees and the action that has been taken,' it added.
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