The economic value of a tree is 74500 in a year. Whatever the tree is, its value should be multiplied by Rs 74,500 every year. This is the first time trees have been economically evaluated. An expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court has evaluated the trees.
The committee has said in its report that a heritage tree 100 years old can cost more than one crore rupees. According to the report, a tree costs Rs 74,500 per year. Of this, oxygen alone costs Rs 45,000, and bio-fertilizers cost Rs 20,000.
Asked by West Bengal to allow the cutting of 356 trees (including heritage trees) to build railway overbridges, the committee said these cost Rs 2.2 billion, which is more than the cost of the project. During the hearing on Wednesday, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde emphasized the adoption of environmentally less harmful alternatives for large projects. The Chief Justice also said that maritime and railroads should be developed instead of roads. The government should consider this so that the felling of trees will be less.
Unhappy over loosening of rules
The apex court also expressed displeasure over the rule set by the central government, under which environmental impact assessment (EIA) is not required for road projects up to 100 km. The bench said that according to us this provision is not correct. The bench said that the court will make the protocol, in which the government will have to explore a possibility that the cost of trees is included in the project cost of the railway. Also, tall dense trees can be shifted to other places. The bench asked advocate Prashant Bhushan to suggest alternative measures to protect the environment from harm.