SHILLONG, June 23: Environment and Forest Minister James Sangma on Wednesday assured that the row of Cryptomeria japonica heritage trees along the road from Upper Shillong to Baniun adjacent to the Eastern Air Command headquarters will be preserved.
He said no tree on the roadside has been touched except for two diseased trees that needed to be felled because of a curve and requirement of space for the proposed highway. “The NHIDCL has been very cooperative and the government will go for compensatory afforestation for the trees felled,” he told reporters while adding that the right of way (ROW) for the project has been reduced from the standard 45-60 metres to 24 metres.
An equivalent non-forest area at Nongumiang in West Khasi Hills district has been chosen for compensatory afforestation.
Sangma asserted that all except eight of the iconic trees will be retained.
He said the PWD had proposed the realignment and widening of the Shillong-Dawki national highway at Upper Shillong through the Upper Shillong Protected Forest. The total affected area for the diversion under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, was 16.107 hectares within the forest and 0.811 hectare deemed forest land outside the protected forest.
He pointed out that the trees have been felled on one side of the existing avenue plantation adjacent to the helipad, as it was “totally unavoidable” for a major road project even with the reduced ROW.
Sangma said that the approval for diversion of 16.107 hectares was granted in principle by the Shillong regional office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in March with conditions for compliance to be fulfilled by NHIDCL. The final approval was given through an order on April 30.
He said care has been taken to ensure that the trees are allowed to be felled only if absolutely necessary.
“To reduce the ROW, the standard median of 2.5 metres was reduced to a bare minimum of 0.6 metres,” the Forest Minister said.
For every tree felled for any purpose outside the forest land, 10 trees shall have to be planted as compensation in order to ensure that the environment is protected, he added.
