Ghaziabad: The National Green Tribunal directed Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation to consider the feasibility of carrying out a plantation drive in the Sai Upwan city forest this monsoon season and submit an affidavit on the same by Sept 16.Whether the city forest has been degraded due to solid waste disposal, unauthorised construction work and damage caused to 70,000 trees has remained the bone of contention, with two important cases being considered by the tribunal simultaneously.The principal bench comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Srivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad gave the order on July 2 while hearing the matter of illegal and unscientific waste disposal — both solid and liquid. It came in response to Ghaziabad district magistrate and the UP Pollution Control Board’s claim that all remedial measures were already taken for removal of waste and there was no overflow of wastewater in the city forest.“If the solid waste dump in the area concerned has been cleared, and the land has been reclaimed, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation will consider the feasibility of carrying out the plantation during this monsoon season in that area and will submit the details thereof in the next affidavit,” the tribunal ruled.The claim, however, was challenged by advocate Akash Vashishtha, counsel for the applicant, former corporator Rajendra Tyagi, who sought four weeks to file a rebuttal.Tyagi alleged that around 70,000 trees in the forest have dried up and been destroyed by non-forest activities in the space, which is earmarked as a city forest in the Master Plan 2031.“A huge chunk of legacy waste is still seen mixed up with the soil and there is no remediation to that effect. The least they must do is conduct afforestation or plantation in the current monsoon season itself so that some restoration of the damaged forest takes place. Otherwise, another rainy season will pass and efforts will be of no use,” Tyagi’s counsel said.NGT had previously issued notices to the environment ministry, the UP govt, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), district magistrate, forest department, Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and Ghaziabad nagar nigam on March 19, while hearing matters linked to waste disposal in Sai Upwan.The tribunal had also directed the applicant to file a separate application regarding illegal construction and changes in the nature of the land. The new application is also being heard by the principal bench.
