Guwahati: Amid growing concerns among citizens over rapid deforestation and shrinking wetlands, the forest department has announced that a plantation drive will be carried out in and around the Deepor Beel area, where saplings amounting to ten times the number of trees felled will be planted. This comes after concerns over tree cutting for the railway’s elevated corridor project.
Compensatory Plantation as per NGT Guidelines
Kamrup East DFO Ashok Kumar Dev Choudhary stated, “If 100 trees are cut, 1,000 saplings will be planted in their place.” He emphasized that this would be done in accordance with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) guideline, commonly referred to as the 1:10 compensatory plantation rule, under which ten saplings are planted for every tree felled as part of a development project.
Project Approval and Environmental Clearance
The elevated corridor project, which is expected to take about 2.5 years to complete, was approved after being examined and cleared by the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun, the principal chief conservator of Forests (Wildlife), and the general manager of Northeast Frontier Railway, the DFO explained.
Residents’ Concerns and Memorandum
This announcement follows residents living near Deepor Beel submitting a memorandum seeking the immediate translocation of the trees being felled. However, the DFO said that translocation was not possible, as the earmarked trees lying along the alignment of the railway’s elevated corridor have already crossed the stage suitable for translocation. Residents and environmental activists have raised concerns that the removal of trees near an ecologically sensitive wetland could have a serious environmental impact.
Environmental Activist Speaks Out
“More than 100 trees have been cut. They play an important role in maintaining ecological balance and protecting the wetland ecosystem. We were assured that felling would be minimised and environmentally sustainable measures would be adopted, but none of it was implemented,” said Pramod Kalita, a local environmental activist. He added that the conditions were laid down by the deputy inspector general of forests (central).
The forest department’s commitment to the 1:10 compensatory plantation is seen as a step towards mitigating the environmental impact, though activists argue that preventing tree cutting in the first place would have been more effective.
