Hyderabad: Over 100 Bauhinia trees were recently felled along the stretch between Nanakramguda toll gate and Gachibowli flyover by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), raising concerns among residents and environmentalists.According to officials from the forest department, the trees were removed without obtaining the mandatory permission. “Upon inspection of the site and after speaking with the site engineer, we found that the department had removed trees on one side of the road for road-widening purposes, with stubs of the cut trunks still visible along the roadside. They did not secure permission from us,” said Ravi Kumar, deputy range officer of the area.The felling appears to have taken place recently, as several stubs and remains of the trees are still lying along the stretch.Kumar said the forest department has halted the ongoing work. “We are currently assessing the extent of the damage and will penalise the metropolitan authority accordingly. Necessary conditions for compensatory plantation will also be imposed,” he added.Environmentalists say the felled trees were likely part of a compensatory plantation carried out earlier during infrastructure works in the area, including road expansion and the development of cycling tracks along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) corridor. “Bauhinia saplings were planted along several stretches of the corridor as part of mitigation efforts following earlier tree loss due to road works,” said Uday Krishna, an environmentalist.Satellite imagery also indicates that a continuous row of trees had existed along the stretch before they were felled recently.Environmentalists warn that repeated removal of roadside plantations undermines the very purpose of compensatory planting. “When such green buffers disappear, it not only increases local temperatures but also worsens air quality, especially in rapidly developing urban corridors,” Krishna addedMSID:: 129612830 413 |
