The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Road-widening takes toll on trees

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Saturday, Oct 06, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Road-widening takes toll on trees

S. Harpal Singh

Some 28,000 trees to be felled for widening a 100-km stretch of national highway

It is mandatory to plant two saplings for each tree felled
Avenue plantation mooted along widened road

Making way: One of the trees by the side of NH-7 near Mannur in Gudihatnoor mandal in Adilabad district that was felled for widening of the road.

ADILABAD: Leave alone illegal felling of trees, legal cutting of trees for developmental projects can be equally ecologically dangerous.

For four-laning of the over 100-km stretch of National Highway-7 passing through Adilabad district some 28,000 trees, mostly mature teak trees, will be cut between Penganga river bridge on Adilabad district’s border with Maharashtra and Godavari river bridge at Soan on its border with Nizamabad district. Of these, over 19,000 trees will be cut in the reserve forest and over 8,000 in non-forest area. The felling of such a large number of trees is equivalent to destroying a forest in an area of 10 square km.

There is one silver lining in the shape of the provisions under the Water, Land and Tree Act (WALTA). It makes it necessary for the cutting agency to plant two saplings for every tree cut in the degraded areas or deposit money needed for taking up such plantation within one month of felling of the trees.

However, it remains to be seen whether fresh plantation can restore the ecological balance lost due to the activity. It will take at least 10 years for new trees to mature.

In the absence of a better alternative, Adilabad Forest Department has suggested immediately taking up of avenue plantation all along the road that is being widened. The Government is acquiring land that will be sufficient for six lanes keeping in view future needs. There is also provision for avenue plantation that will perhaps be taken up at a later date. Trees like clonal and eucalyptus have been preferred for their comparatively faster rate of growth.

Timber yield

Meanwhile, trees that are being cut along the Penganga-Ichoda section are estimated to yield about 3,000 cu mts of timber that includes 140 cu mts of teak and 900 cu mts of non-teak timber.

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