Jharkhand High Court Halts Cutting of 13,681 Trees for Chatra Bypass Project

The Jharkhand High Court has issued a stay on the felling of 13,681 fully grown trees marked for the construction of the proposed bypass in Chatra city. The court emphasized that such a significant number of tree removals would severely impact the environment and local ecosystem.

During a hearing on Thursday, Justice Anand Sen considered a petition filed by Suresh Sahu. The state government reported that, according to the executive engineer of the Hazaribagh NH division, the current alignment of the bypass would necessitate cutting down these trees, all of which are fully developed. The court expressed serious concern over the environmental damage that would result from the loss of so many mature trees.

The court noted that the ecological harm caused by cutting down fully grown trees cannot be compensated merely by planting new saplings. In light of this, the court has temporarily halted the tree cutting.

Additionally, the High Court has directed that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, along with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, be made respondents in the case. Both ministries are required to submit a counter affidavit within six weeks.

Prashant Pallav, the additional solicitor general representing the central government, acknowledged the court’s notice. The court has also granted the relevant agencies the freedom to review the current alignment of the bypass and consider possible realignment to preserve as many mature trees as possible while still meeting the construction needs.

The proposed bypass aims to connect Chatra city with NH-99 (new NH-22) and NH-100 (new NH-522). The petitioner has requested a change in the current alignment, arguing that it could save approximately 300 fully grown trees on their land. In previous hearings, the High Court instructed officials to inspect the site and report on how many trees would be cut down and the feasibility of altering the route to protect the trees. An interim stay on road construction in the area was also imposed until further notice.

Following the revelation of the need to cut down 13,681 mature trees in the government’s report, the court has extended the stay on the tree cutting. A decision will be made after reviewing the responses from the central ministries and reassessing the alignment.