NOIDA: The district forest office has ordered the felling of 3,000 eucalyptus trees in Sector 91 from a plot earmarked for a
biodiversity park. However, the felling orders have met with protests from environmentalists who claim that the exercise is illegal.
The forest department, however, claims that the trees became mature years ago and were due to be cut 15 years ago.
“Eucalyptus is harmful for water table as they absorb groundwater. The rotation time for these trees was 10 years and they should have been cut 15 years ago. Now they have to be cut because the biodiversity park plan is all set to be executed. We have given permission to Noida Authority to cut the trees. Two neem trees have been wrongly felled by the tree cutters in the process and we have lodged legal action for the same. However, felling of the
eucalyptus trees is not illegal,” district forest officer A K Srivastava said.
On the other hand, the environmentalists have called the drive illegal and the local residents have called for a protest on Saturday against the felling.
“The area was earmarked for a city forest in Master Plan 2021. The land use of the area was changed from forest to recreational park in Master Plan 2031. The planned redevelopment of the area spans 75 acres. The forest was crucial for an ecological balance of the local area. Now the entire area is being dug up and the redevelopment of the area is going to take years. We are against such random acts of redevelopment,” said Vikrant Tongad, president of Social Action for Forests and Environment (SAFE), an NGO.
“There is no threat to the
ecology because of the removal of eucalyptus. We will plant trees which are more suitable for the area in future. Eucalyptus neither gives shade nor birds can build nests on them. Besides, they are harmful for water table which is already under threat in the region,” Srivastav added.
The forest department said the trees were due to be cut 15 years ago
