SHILLONG: With the rampant cutting of trees following the August 12 accident that claimed three lives near Raj Bhavan, a PIL was filed by city-based lawyer Kaustav Paul prompting the High Court to order the government to stop further felling of trees.
The Forest Department had identified over 500 trees to be cut and the petitioner pointed out that within a span of four days, including Sunday and Independence Day, after the accident, indiscriminate cutting of trees was taken up, so much so that on August 15 a fresh and strong tree standing in the vicinity of the High Court and opposite the office of the Deputy Commissioner in the city was chopped down though the same was not posing any threat.
The petitioner also stated that after the accident, the government was rather mindlessly cutting the trees and if such a whimsical exercise is not checked, the pristine green city of Shillong would be rather denuded of its green cover without any reason.
“Having regard to the circumstances of the case and the issues involved, it is also considered appropriate and hence ordered that no further cutting of trees would be carried out by the respondents until further orders of this court,” the order said.
However, if any particular tree is said to be in a precarious condition and its cutting is considered unavoidable, the complete details will have to be stated before the court with a specific affidavit of the concerned forest officer, the order said.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice VP Vaish wanted the respondent to file a specific reply in regard to the submissions made and the grounds stated in the PIL.
The government advocate, P. Agarwal, said the offending tree at Raj Bhavan had fallen due to torrential rain and during a survey on the Raj Bhavan campus in June, only four trees were found posing some concerns but not the offending tree that caused the accident on August 12.
According to Agarwal, the government took swift action and six committees were constituted to carry out the survey of different areas in and around the city and as per the reports of the committees, about 549 trees needed to be chopped down and about 83 of them were found to be causing immediate threat to life and property.
Till date, 25 trees have been cut down in the city of which nine were located in the properties belonging to private individuals and the remains of the trees have been handed over to the owners while giving them option that they may either join public auction or take alternative measures for disposal while giving reasons.
The remains of the trees that the Forest Department had chosen to chop down are lying at three beat houses of the Forest Department at Mawiong, Upper Shillong and Lawmali.
However, the court appointed Dashalene Kharbteng, Assistant Sessions Judge, Shillong, as the receiver of the entire property of such fallen trees and no part of such trees will be permitted to be removed or dealt with by any person without specific order of the High Court.
The receiver will also visit all the relevant places, including the three beat houses, and take stock of relevant materials besides taking necessary photographs, the court said.
The court further wanted to know whether any inquiry was conducted into the Raj Bhavan tree incident to ascertain who is responsible for the loss of lives and what action has been taken against the erring offices and officers.
It also wanted the authorities concerned to provide reply to the RTI queries posed by the petitioner by Monday.
The matter will come up again for hearing on August 23.
