No more tree felling for Kolkata Metro without CEC nod: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that no further tree felling should take place for expansion of the Kolkata Metro without approval of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC). [People United for Better Living in Calcutta (PUBLIC) v The State of West Bengal and Ors]

A Bench of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan passed an order to this effect.

The CEC is a body formed in 2002 to monitor and ensure compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court on environmental law.

The top court was hearing a petition by NGO People United for Better Living in Calcutta (PUBLIC) challenging the destruction of green cover for Kolkata's ongoing metro expansion.

The Bench had earlier expressed concerns over the large-scale felling of trees in the West Bengal capital, attributing it to delays in the planning and implementation of the project.

The petitioners earlier informed the Court that they were not opposed to the metro project.

However, they emphasized that approximately 940 trees were set to be felled, with the justification that they would be transplanted. They pointed out that these trees were being relocated far from their original site.

On the other hand, the counsel for West Bengal claimed that the transplantation would be along the metro line and not outside the city.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Kolkata Metro and submitted that the trees were being transplanted and not felled.

He cited the example of a four-year transplanted peepal tree at his residence to vouch for the method.

PUBLIC was represented by Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta and advocates Siddhartha Sinha, Riddhi Bose, Racheeta Chawla, Rishi Agarwal, Sampriti Baksi, Siddharth Banerjee, Nring Chamwibo Zeliang, Priya Nisha Minz and Jyoti Fartiyal.

The respondents were also represented by advocates Saurabh Misra, Shrimay Misra and Rakesh Chander.