3 days ago
UP to fell 1,400 trees in Pilibhit; Environmentalists threaten Chipko-like protest
Environmental activists have decried the plan as unnecessary and illogical, warning of a revived 'Chipko' movement to prevent the felling.
PILIBHIT: In a move sparking public outrage, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is set to axe around 1,400 mature green trees — many over 50 years old — lining an 8-km stretch of the Bhind–Lipulekh highway that cuts through Pilibhit city.
The decision comes despite the existence of a functional bypass road built to NH standards, which provides seamless connectivity and could have spared the trees.
Environmental activists have decried the plan as unnecessary and illogical, warning of a revived 'Chipko' movement to prevent the felling. The trees in question are now at the heart of an emerging civil resistance.
Environmentalist and lawyer Shivam Kashyap has written to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), urging it to halt the plan and review the project's necessity.
The Supreme Court Registrar has acknowledged his concerns and has reportedly agreed to treat the matter as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
Following Kashyap's appeal, several NGOs — including the Mumbai-based Earth Brigade Foundation, Lucknow's Avian Society, Pilibhit's Wildlife Biodiversity Conservation Society, and Save Environment Society — have pledged non-violent resistance, invoking Sundar Lal Bahuguna's Chipko movement.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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The highway project, which spans approximately 840 km across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Nepal, includes a 183.38-km section from Bewar to Pilibhit in its first phase, beginning from Mainpuri.
In March this year, PWD executive engineer Shashank Bhargav directed the divisional forest officer (DFO) of Pilibhit, Bharat Kumar D, to mark roadside trees in a 12-metre-wide area on both sides of the road between chainage 79.350 and 107 of the Pilibhit-Majhola section.
The DFO, without reviewing the necessity of cutting down the trees, forwarded the order to sub-divisional forest officer Anajani Kumar Shrivastav, who subsequently marked around 1,400 trees for removal.
When asked by TOI why the trees needed to be axed despite the presence of a bypass road that could accommodate traffic flow, Bhargav responded, 'How can we leave the city centre from widening?'
DM Gyanendra Singh said he would consult senior MoRTH officials to explore alternatives that could protect the trees.
