Consider planting trees in Maidan, SC tells defence, state
Times of India | 21 December 2024
Kolkata: The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), set up by the Supreme Court to look into the felling and transplantation of 700 trees for the construction of the Joka-Esplanade Metro corridor passing through the Maidan, has asked the forest department and defence ministry to consider a proposal of carrying out the compensatory plantation in the Maidan instead of Joka, 10km away.
Vipin Kumar, chief project manager of RVNL, executing the metro project, told the committee that the defence ministry had refused permission for compensatory plantation in the area and so, it was being taken up at the Joka depot. It is in view of this submission, the CEC asked the state and defence ministry to consider compensatory plantation along the periphery of the Maidan.
Green activist group People United for Better Living in Calcutta (PUBLIC) had moved the SC, expressing concerns about RVNL's lack of expertise in transplantation and compensatory plantation. It questioned why the loss that Maidan would suffer for the construction of three stations and a cross-over would be compensated in Joka despite ample land available in the Maidan.
Kumar claimed trees on the site would be transplanted and not felled. Tree experts pointed out the tall, century-old trees had little chance of survival once uprooted. What is crucial, Pradeep Kakkar of PUBLIC said, was the aftercare.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.