Bhopal News: National Green Tribunal Puts Road Widening Project Under CEC Review

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Central Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Bhopal, has again taken a tough stand on the approximately 16-kilometer road widening project from Asaram Tiraha to Ayodhya Bypass in Bhopal, which involves the proposed cutting of 8,000 to 12,000 trees.

The bench comprising Justices Shiv Kumar Singh (Judicial Member) and Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi (Expert Member) passed order.

Petitioner nitin Saxena said that NGT clarified in the hearing held that –“The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) must strictly comply with our May 2025  that applies equally to state agencies as well as central government agencies.

NGT had directed the Committee to ensure the State Government must constitute a high-level "Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC)" to review tree felling permissions. Permission to cut more than 25 trees in any project will no longer be granted by municipal corporations, but only with the approval of this Central Empowered Committee. It will be mandatory to consider alternatives before felling trees.

For every tree felled, 10 to 100 times the number of trees should be plantedand Geo-tagging of all trees.

Advocate Harpreet Singh Gupta, representing the petner argued that thousands of trees will be affected by the project and that this is the first case where thousands of trees can be saved before they are felled.