Chandigarh: In a significant development, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday restrained the felling of trees anywhere in the entire state of Haryana without prior permission of the high court. Division bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu passed these orders while expressing shock with the state of the forest cover being the lowest in the state of Haryana in the entire country.The bench passed these orders while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) against the cutting of trees in the forest area of Punjab, trees of Panchkula Golf Course and trees falling under Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) in Sector-1A of Panchkula, Haryana. The project involves diversion of about 17.57 hectares of forest land and felling of over 5,000 mature trees, including tree cover in the Panchkula Golf course, Sector-1A green belt, and adjoining forested stretches along the Ghaggar river corridor.While the copy of the order was not available till the filing of this report, senior advocate Anand Chhiber confirmed that the HC has not only stayed the cutting of trees for the project but also restrained the felling of trees in the entire state of Haryana without HC’s permission. “This is a significant environmental protection order, especially in the context of this present PIL concerning the proposed Zirakpur-Panchkula access-controlled highway project, which threatens large-scale destruction of the Tri-City ecological zone, including Panchkula’s principal green lung areas,” Chhiber added.The matter had reached before the HC in the wake of a PIL filed by Sunil Kumar Sharma, a resident of Panchkula and 20 others challenging the forest clearances granted for a major highway project cutting through the last surviving green belt in the Tricity of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. The petitioners sought directions for immediate remedial action to halt tree felling and to quash the the Stage-I forest clearance dated July 31, 2025, and Stage-II clearance dated Jan 8, 2026, along with all consequential approvals permitting diversion of 17.57 hectares (43.416 acres) of forest land.Under challengeIn this matter, the proposed six-lane Zirakpur bypass/access-controlled spur connectivity project, which is part of Tricity Ring Road undertaken by NHAI, is under judicial scanner. As per the plea, the project, spanning 19.2km, would cut through ecologically fragile zones, including Punjab forest patches, the Ghaggar riverine belt, dense scrub forests in Panchkula, Sector-1A green belt and Panchkula Golf Course. It has been contended that more than 5,000 mature trees, most of which are 20 to 30 years old, were planned to be felled.
