NGT bans tree hacking on Panditiya Road

Kolkata: Green activists who had been fighting to save several century-old trees on Panditiya Road can now breathe easy. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered a ban on felling of trees in this posh south Kolkata locality. The 'save the green' fight for a group of environmentalists and a section of locals began around three months ago when they found tree hackers were at work with ladder fitted vehicles to uprooting a century-old tree to facilitate widening of the adjacent road. The road widening project was undertaken by KMC apparently to sanction a 20-storey building. , which would have otherwise faced problems according to the civic building rules.The fight was an uneven one and the activists could not protect five banyan trees, one of which was more than a century old. They decided to move NGT to save other trees in the locality. Locals are happy, but apprehensive. "If the NGT asks the civic body to ensure protection of the existing trees, we welcome it. But we also fear that with passage of time, fresh attempts will be made to destroy the existing greenery," said Swapan Pal, a local. A visit to the area on Thursday revealed a picture which may trigger resentment among locals. Only a 50m-stretch of Panditiya Road has been widened in front of two residential buildings. towers while the construction of the third is in progress. The portion of the road which has been widened is out of bounds for motorists and locals because the space has been converted into a parking lot for commercial vehicles. "What purpose will serve the road widening project if only a small stretch is taken up and rest of it remains congested?" asked Bonani Kakkar, a green activist.Locals are happy but apprehensive. "Despite best of our efforts we could not stop hacking of many a priceless trees in the area with whom we have grown old. Now if the NGT comes forward and asks the civic body to ensure protection of other existing full grown trees, we welcome it. But, we also fear that with passage of time, fresh attempts would be made to destroy the existing greenery," said Swapan Pal a local resident. Bonani Kakkar, the green activist who took up the case and moved NGT expressed surprise over the civic body's attempts to uproot so many full grown trees in the name of widening the road. "What purpose will serve the road widening project if only a small stretch is taken up and rest of it remains congested," she wondered. The green activist also expressed shock over the manner in which the civic body played hide and seek in pulling down the trees and denied its role in the butchery. Reacting to the NGT diktat, A KMC parks department official said they were yet to receive any order from the NGT office.