A massive tree felling activity for the expansion of roads by the Highways Department in Maduranthakam has been stalled by the State government.
As many as 421 trees were to be felled for the expansion of three stretches of roads in Maduranthakam. As per the minutes of the District Green Committee meeting held on March 2, approval was given for felling 214 trees on Mudukarai-Kadalur Road, 195 on Maduranthakam-Vennangupattu Road, and 12 on Cheyyur-Padalam Road. Some mature trees, at least 50 years old, were already cut when The Hindu visited Mudukarai-Kadalur Road on August 17.
In a recent development, Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary to Departments of Environment, Climate Change and Forests, on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Chengalpattu Collector, who is the chairperson of the Green Committee, stating that trees should only be cut under exceptional circumstances. “In this case, it is shocking to note that more than 200 tamarind trees were permitted to be cut,” she wrote.
The Highways Department has been asked to stop the tree felling and make an alternate proposal to the Green Committee, said Ravi Meena, District Forest Officer (DFO), Chengalpattu, on Tuesday. “An official notice will be sent tomorrow,” he added.
Need for Tree Act
Mature trees in public spaces are constantly in danger from “development”, vandalism, abuse, and indiscriminate felling, said Shobha Menon of Nizhal, an environmental organisation. She said an urban tree preservation law is urgently needed in Tamil Nadu before more old trees are lost. “While other States have passed such Acts in the 1970s, we have lagged behind in this regard,” Ms. Menon said.
According to Ms. Sahu, the State Green Committee is working on a legislation, and it will be implemented in the near future.
