World around is gearing up to celebrate World Environment Day. However, the Telangana state has worrisome facts of felling trees in the city.
In February, it was told that as per the assessment made by the Forest Survey of India using the satellite remote sensing data, the forest cover of the state has increased by 7.70 per cent during the last six years.
On Sunday, 119 trees were chopped off in Secunderabad. The investigation report said that the assistant executive requested for permission for felling or translocation of 119 trees falling in the purview of construction or major upgradation of the Secunderabad railway station.
District-Level Tree Protection Committee members have inspected the trees obstructing the construction of the railway station. The committee accorded 45 trees for translocation which are obstructing under the proposed construction work and balance 74 trees to be retained, but the green activists condemned these acts of tree felling and sought a probe to relocate them instead.
Earlier, around 73 trees were felled without the Tree Protection Committee’s consent along the length of the road connecting Hyderabad’s Hytec City flyover to Yashoda Hospital.
Vinay Vangala, a resident of Hyderabad, filed a complaint on May 1 regarding the large number of trees being chopped.
Then the Chilkur forest range officer was instructed to inspect the area and submit a report. After a thorough inspection, it was found that the trees were felled without taking permission from the officials concerned.
RM Dobriyal, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Forces, said that K Chandrakanth Reddy, FRO of Serilingampally Zone, has been placed under suspension and disciplinary action initiated for the felling of 73 trees.
“It is good to see Haritha Haram results on ground are positive after the government’s serious action towards the environment but unfortunately some irresponsible officers, along with the citizens who are not concerned about the environment, chop down the fully grown trees, thus violating the rules and going against the government programme. It is clearly evident that the officers who are paying Haritha tax are also committing these kind of barbaric acts,” said Vinay.
