SC allows 452 trees to be cut around Taj Trapezium Zone post compensatory afforestation

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court accepted the plea of the Northern Railways which sought permission to cut 452 trees in and around 30 kilometres of Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ). The permission was sought to lay down a new railway track from Delhi-Mathura-Agra. The Supreme Court passed the plea with a 'conditional' acceptance of compensatory afforestation.

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The SC bench which was headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde also directed the secretary of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to appoint an officer who would visit the site and inspect the trees that have been planted as 'compensation' for the felling by the Northern Railways.

The duty of the Nothern Railways does not only end at that. The officer would also regularly check the upkeep of the saplings by the Nothern Railways. Care would be taken to see whether the saplings are being watered, nourished, whether any saplings have died, and if so, whether dead saplings have been replaced, ordered the apex court. The status report regarding this would be then submitted to the bench from the office within three months.

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For an unbiased perspective, the petitioner and environmentalist M C Mehta along with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) have also been asked to inspect and submit a report within six weeks. Their report would also include suggesting remedial action on the problem of open drains, overflowing sewers in Agra town and vicinity of the Taj Mahal.

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The Supreme court affirmed that the building of the new railway line was "no doubt" very important however the permission to cut 452 trees is conditional and subjected to compensatory afforestation that needs to be done by the Nothern Railways. The Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ,) was established after an order by the Supreme Court on December 30, 1996, to protect the Taj Mahal from pollution. The entire zone stretches over10,400 sq km across the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. 

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(with inputs from ANI)