New Delhi: Supreme Court today asked the amicus curiae to file a comprehensive report on the allegation that Uttar Pradesh government was cutting down trees in a sprawling farm land near Lucknow to develop a smart city.
A bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi and Pinaki Chandra Ghose told the UP administration not to cut the trees, if it wanted the matter to be heard on March 10.
“Otherwise, we will hear the matter in next week,” the court said and asked environmentalist advocate A D N Rao to visit the area—the Chak Ganjaria farm land spread over 992 acres, and file a comprehensive report.
During the hearing, Rao said if the land in question was forest land, then separate legal provision would apply and the central government would have a role. If the land is not forest land, then other laws relating to felling of trees would come into play, he said. Senior advocate Ashok Desai, appearing for UP, said the trees have been felled as per the law and after getting the requisite approvals.
The bench is hearing a plea filed by NGO ‘We the People' through its General Secretary and advocate Prince Lenin. The petition has sought directions to UP and its Agriculture Production Commissioner that trees over the land near Lucknow should not be cut.
UP was planning to “destroy/remove the existing greenery spread over farm land belonging to the forest department in the name to development of hi-tech city and colonies and shift animals to Neblet Farm in Barabanki,” the plea claimed.
It also alleged that mandatory environment clearances have not been obtained from the Centre despite the grave threat to the loss of environment, and was likely result in environmental changes and affect biodiversity of the area.
The plea also sought quashing of all transfer proceedings pertaining to land belonging to the farm and a bar on destroying any greenery present on the land.
It also asked the court to direct the state government not to remove the animals residing within the forests spread over the farm land.
The petition had claimed that the farm land consists of 565 cows of Sahiwal breed, hundreds of peacocks, deer, jackal, owls, sparrows, parrots, pythons, cobras and several other birds and animals.
It is a forest area and housed several different species of trees, more than 1000 fully grown trees in number, which included Neem, Sheesham, Peepal, Babul, Bargad, Jamun, Mango, Singhdi and Eucalyptus.
The state government, however, claimed that the land of the farm was neither a notified forest nor a reserved forest or wild life sanctuary and it has planned to optimally use the land available in the farm with a view to achieve critical developmental goals.
It also said that all the necessary clearance and measures would be taken in this regard.
