Ghaziabad: Taking serious note of damage and destruction to Sai Upwan city forest in Ghaziabad, National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to the Centre and UP govt among others, directing them to file a reply within four weeks, and fixed July 2 as the next date of hearing.The principal bench of NGT — comprising Chairperson Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad — has issued notices to the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MOEFCC), UP govt, Ghaziabad Development Authority, Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam, district magistrate, Central Pollution Control Board, UP Pollution Control Board, as well as the divisional forest officer.The bench was hearing the petition filed by former municipal corporator Rajendra Tyagi on May 15. The petition was filed in compliance with an order of the NGT passed on March 19 earlier this year.The bench, while hearing the matter of sewage and wastewater discharged in the city forest leading to destruction of over 70,000 trees, said: “Though in this original application, the applicant has raised several issues concerning an area of 200 acres of Sai Upwan, such as solid waste, accumulation of legacy waste, illegal construction activities, earth filling reclaiming part of the forest area, cattle grazing, submergence with sewage/wastewater and other non-forest activities, etc., but at the time of arguments, learned counsel for the applicant submits that he is confining this OA only to the issue of solid and liquid waste management. Hence, counsel for the applicant is permitted to delete the averment relating to the other issues as also consequently amend the prayer clause of the OA within one week.”Complying with the direction, the fresh OA seeking intervention of the green tribunal to issue direction to the authorities for checking construction work in the city forest and its conservation as green area was filed.“Sai Upwan is not merely an open area but a forest earmarked in the Ghaziabad Master Plan 2031, mandated to be used only for the purposes of a city forest. By converting Sai Upwan, a designated city forest, into non-forest activities such as constructions of roads and other structures, earth filling/reclamation, not only the existing rich tree cover, comprising several thousand trees, is being lost, but a significant additional space of at least 100 acres, which could, otherwise, be put under afforestation for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution, will be lost forever, depriving millions of residents of fresh, clean air,” counsel for the petitioner Akash Vashishtha said.Seeking to fix accountability with the respondents, the petitioner has sought direction to ensure that no earth-filling/reclamation, concretisation and constructions inside the Sai Upwan city forest is allowed. “Demolish the structures already raised and conduct massive, dense afforestation of native species and fruit trees and strictly regulate, manage and conserve the city forest.”Vashishtha said that GDA has shrugged off its responsibility and tried to pass the onus on Ghaziabad civic body for the upkeep of the city forest. “We have made both parties and now await specific direction of the tribunal so that the authorities are directed to ensure that the ‘lungs’ of one of the ‘most polluted cities of the country’ are allowed to function,” Vashishtha said.
