Everyone is well aware of the impending doom looming over us, caused by deforestation and the increase in the pollution in the cities. While the government, as well as the people, have been making small efforts in their own sense, the race to development ends up taking it all down.
3,500 Trees To Be Axed To Make Way For Eight-Lane Delhi-Panipat Highway, Reveals RTI https://t.co/fK7emCjZzB
— Suchandra Dutta (@Su_dutta) July 23, 2019
In the latest development, an RTI response by the National Highways Authority of India brought to light that at least 3,490 trees will be razed down to make way for the 8-lane Delhi-Panipat Highway. The project involves making NH-1 an 8-lane, for about 70.5 km, from Mukarba Chowk to Panipat in Haryana, to decongest Delhi.
Also Read: Gurugram Has Got An Ambulance To Care For It’s Trees And Here’s Why Every City Needs Them
To move forward with the project, Rs 55.62 crore has been deposited by the NHAI to the Forest Departments in both Delhi and Haryana, and Rs 17 lakh has been received by the authority from the contractor in Delhi section.
While the trees are to be cut down aimlessly for the development of the 8-lane highway, the authorities have no specific policy regarding the planting of saplings as substitutes for trees being cut.
Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world, with the air quality depleting day by day. The major cause of this has been marked as increased deforestation to make way for buildings and expressways. While people have been coming up with solutions on their own like having a tree ambulance, to look after newly planted saplings, or conducting plantation drives, it will make no real change until the government and other higher authorities come forth to help the citizens with their endevours.