GREEN COVER MUST BE SAVED: CJI

NEW DELHI: Green cover must be preserved, and people should explore alternatives to address environmental concerns, Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde said on Tuesday, expressing apprehension over the drastic effects that deforestation will bring in the coming years.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Association for Protection of Democratic Rights, the NGO that opposed the felling of heritage tress for the construction of five railway over-bridges and expansion of National Highway 112 in West Bengal.

In response to a statement by the petitioner’s advocate Prashant Bhushan that things might take a turn for the worse in another 50 years, Bobde said: “It is believable, very believable.”

The Calcutta High Court, in August 2018, gave permission to the state government to cut 356 trees for the over-bridges and highway expansion projects. The NGO appealed against that judgment in Supreme Court.

“We hold that felling of the 356 trees is necessary for implementing the important public project of constructing the five ROBs and the State respondents will be entitled to do so. However, this will be restricted only to the 356 trees and no other tree,” the high court had ruled in 2018.

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for West Bengal, told the Supreme Court that the state, after taking into account environmental concerns, decided that it will cut the minimum number of trees required for the project.

The CJI, however, voiced his concern over the rapid loss of green cover due to deforestation.

“Before anybody knows everything will be lost. People are not willing to explore alternatives. There could be a way to create a path without cutting trees though it might be a little more expensive,” he said.