NGT panel seeks time for Upper Ganga Road report

An expert committee constituted on orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to probe different environmental aspects of the proposed 111km Upper Ganga Canal Road project has requested the green court for more time to prepare a final, detailed report, and added that it will also share a carbon impact assessment report.

The 111km project — also known as the Kanwar Marg project — stretches from Muradnagar in Ghaziabad to Purkaji near the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border. It was greenlit by the Uttar Pradesh forest department in January, and the proposal stated that 112,000 trees and shrubs will be felled in the protected forest area of three forest divisions — Ghaziabad, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar.

HT on February 1 highlighted concerns by environmental activists, who warned that felling such a large number of trees will adversely impact the biodiversity of the region. On the basis of the HT report, NGT on March 13 registered a suo motu petition and impleaded officials from UP and Uttarakhand as respondents.

During a hearing on November 6, the expert committee submitted an interim report before the tribunal which stated, “Public Works Department (PWD) will evaluate and provide a detailed report on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of tree cutting in the mentioned area. This will include potential repercussions on air quality, and any other ecological concerns.”

The interim report also submitted that 17,607 trees have been felled in the three districts as on August 9.

NGT then directed the committee to “expedite and submit final report without any delay”. The green court also observed that permission was granted to fell 112,722 trees, but now it has been decided that only 33,776 trees shall be cut.

The order was uploaded online on November 8.

During the hearing, the committee in their report submitted that PWD “is collaborating with environmental experts to prepare a carbon impact assessment report” which will “analyse the project’s overall carbon footprint and incorporate a report with environmental impact assessment”.

HT on Saturday reached out to PWD executive engineer Ram Raja, who did not respond to calls for comment.

NGT then directed the UP government to clarify if the number of trees to be cut has been calculated strictly in accordance with the provisions of The UP Protection of Trees Act, 1976.

“The state will also clarify if the plants, trees, bushes, etc being cut in the construction of the road and not counted in 33,766 trees, fall within the definition of tree under the UP Tree Protection Act. The state of UP will file the affidavit of additional chief secretary (environment), clearly stating the number of trees that will be cut in the course of construction of the Kawar Marg under consideration, and the said number will be disclosed having due regard to the provisions of the UP Tree Protection Act 1976,” the tribunal said.

NGT added that it should also be stated clearly if trees have been cut beyond the proposed width of 15/20m trees, “and, if yes, the person responsible for it”.

The Survey of India (SoI) is also a respondent in the case, and NGT — which wants to find the extent of tree felling for the project by comparing satellite images between October 2023 and October 2024 — had directed the agency to file a report “showing the comparative position of trees” in the three districts.

However, SoI on October 29 filed a compliance report with the tribunal, submitting that satellite imagery of the area concerned was only found for the year 2023.