In a petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding the proposed felling of 5000 trees for constructing a bypass, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry prohibited the cutting of any tree in Haryana till the next date of hearing while stating that the respondent’s inaction required drastic remedial measures.
The petitioners submitted that forest cover in Haryana was only 3.65% of the geographical area as per the Indian State Forest Report (2023).
The Court questioned the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as to whether the States of Punjab and Haryana were ready to provide public land for afforestation in lieu of 5,000 trees proposed to be cut for the construction of the new Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass. However, counsel for NHAI had no answer and requested time.
The counsel for NHAI was also directed to submit to this Court all realignment proposals made by NHAI’s technical team to ascertain whether due care was exercised in considering an alternative site for the construction of the proposed bypass.
The Court found that the State functionaries of Haryana were neither serious nor conscious of the impending ecological catastrophe. It was stated that the respondents’ inactivity required drastic remedial measures. Hence, the Court prohibited the cutting of any tree in Haryana belonging to any age/species, without the Court’s permission until the next date of hearing.
Lastly, NHAI assured that no tree would be cut for the construction of the proposed bypass till further orders.
The matter is now listed on 17-04-2026.
Appearances:
For Petitioners – Mr. Anand Chhibbar, Mr. Karan Gaba, Mr. Vijiyesh Malhotra, Ms. Ateevraj Sandhu, Mr. Inderjeet Singh
For Respondents – Mr. Satya Pal Jain (Addl. Solicitor General of India), Mr. Neeraj Gupta (Addl. Advocate General), Mr. Salil Sabhlok (Sr. DAG), Mr. Karanvir Singh Kathuria (Central Govt.), Mr. Rishi Kaushal, Ms. Komal Bishnoi, Mr. Sukhdeep Parmar
