In violation of rules pertaining to protection of greenery and environment, more than the permitted number of trees have been felled on the road between Uppal junction and Narapally, to make way for construction of an elevated corridor.
Not just that, after being penalised for felling the trees, the agency is said to have gone ahead and felled even more trees, in the hope of getting away by paying a bigger penalty!
The 6.4-km six lane Uppal-Narapally flyover is expected to decongest the road for traffic from L.B. Nagar, Secunderabad Railway Station, Ramanthapur and Warangal Highway.
The project, part of the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) of the State government, is being funded by the Central government and executed by the National Highways wing of the Roads & Buildings department.
The works have been allotted to a private construction agency in 2018, for completion within 24 months.
The R&B department had applied to the forest department for permission to cut a total of 1,119 trees, which were coming in the way of construction, way back in June 2018. The number was later revised to 1,017 trees, including those on the central median.
The proposal went for the scrutiny of the District Tree Protection Committee, which, after inspection of the site, granted permission to cut only 427 trees. Further, the committee has ordered for translocation of 50 trees, and retention of the remaining 540 trees.
However, the department has subsequently sought permission for translocation of the remaining trees too, as they were right on the median and could damage the foundation of pillars.
Even trees on the footpath need to be removed as utilities like electricity poles were to be shifted there, the application said.
Even before the proposal received any response, several trees that were marked for protection by the committee have been felled, allege environmentalists. Upon enquiry, it was admitted by the officials too.
“Our preliminary enquiry revealed that 70-odd trees have been felled in contravention of rules, and we have penalised the agency for the same,” a forest official revealed.
Even after paying ₹1 lakh penalty, the agency carried its mission further and felled more trees on the stretch, the official said.
The number and extent of the second instance of felling still needs to be inspected and estimated, for penalising the agency a second time, the official said.
Notwithstanding the violations, the department is trying to reach a truce now, by allowing the agency to go ahead with the work after translocation of the remaining trees.
“The ficus trees are on the median, and cannot survive anyway. An NGO has come forward to translocate the trees, and we are coordinating with the Roads & Buildings department about the same,” the official said.
