Govt will explore all possibilities before cutting down trees: CJI

A PIL had challenged the West Bengal government's decision to cut 356 trees to construct five railway overbridges (ROBs) costing Rs 500 crore on a 59-km stretch on NH-112 (part of NH-35) under the program.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case pertaining to 'Setu Bharatmala' program on February 24 for which Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde had set up a committee earlier this month.

A PIL had challenged the West Bengal government's decision to cut 356 trees to construct five railway overbridges (ROBs) costing Rs 500 crore on a 59-km stretch on NH-112 (part of NH-35) under the program.

The bench led by CJI, comprising of Justice AS Bopanna and Justice V Ramasubramnaian was hearing a batch of pleas on the environment today which included the West Bengal case as well.

The court said that it will lay down guidelines on the matter and that the cost of the project will include the cost of the value of the tree. CJI said that certain type of trees and certain age of trees will never be allowed to cut down and the court wants to determine the age of maturity of the trees.

CJI asked for names to be included in a committee which will look into the matter and then the court will hear the case in detail.

Senior Advocate AM Singhvi informed the court that in 6 kms 306 trees will be cut and the project was started because there was a lot of loss of lives due to railway lines without any overbridge.

The court observed that it is not concerned with 6 km but the fast-paced development all across the country. CJI said that the government has to explore all the possibilities before cutting down trees.

Court has asked for names for the committee and will be hearing the matter at length next week.