Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: Around 94,000 trees had to be felled in Assam in the past four years for the development of national highways. This is apart from the trees felled in the development of state highways during the period. The Northeast as a whole witnessed the felling of 4.20 lakh trees in the past four years for this purpose. According to the statistics of the Union Forest and Environment Ministry, from 2020-21 to 2023-24 as many as 1.17 lakh trees were felled in Manipur for the development of national highways. The number of trees felled for the development of national highways during this period in other states of the region are 94,000 in Assam, 78,000 in Nagaland, 74,000 in Arunachal Pradesh, 38,000 in Mizoram, 31,000 in Tripura, and 19,000 in Meghalaya.
According to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, road developers need to plant saplings at a proportion of 1:10 to compensate for the loss made to the greenery. However, they seldom follow this rule due to the lack of adequate land suitable for plantations near highways.
According to sources, even if there is no land for compensatory plantations near highways, road developers can plant saplings elsewhere to compensate for the loss. However, the Union ministry claims that the survival rate of saplings planted along the national highways in Assam is 82 percent, 90 percent in Manipur, and 70 percent each in Nagaland and Tripura.
Through its guidelines, the Union ministry has spelt out that the felling of grown-up trees leads to adverse effects on the environment. It has been observed that the felling of trees can be reduced (by about 50 percent) if the land for expansion for any highway is acquired on one side of an existing road, as against doing the same on both sides.
According to sources, road construction causes the removal of trees and other plants, leading to the loss of carbon sequestration. To compensate for the loss of carbon sequestration, the road developers need to plant saplings. Land provisions for urban forestry and vertical gardening in flyovers need to be incorporated to maintain future climate change to promote healthy environmental conditions.
Also read: Assam: Tangla senior citizens justify tree-cutting decision in state
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