The Punjab and Haryana High Court disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking direction to the respondents to stop illegal cutting of trees on the part of a Green Belt situated in Industrial Area, Phase-7, Mohali.
The main grievance of the petitioner is that in the aforesaid green belt, six industrial plots have been carved out and the same have been allotted for setting up industrial unit.
The petitioner has placed on record photographs that in the already existing green belt, there were trees and the same have now been cut down opposite Industrial Plots.
It is submitted by counsel for the petitioner that these trees have been cut down by the respondents in violation of the judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in Lal Bahadur vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and others 2018(15) SCC 407.
On perusal of the this judgment , the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Nidhi Gupta noted that the Supreme Court was considering the case under the U.P. Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 and with respect to change in Master Plan and conversion of green belt for residential purpose and it was held that the green belt could not be converted into residential area.
On notice of this petition, reply dated 23.01.2023 has been filed by the Punjab Small Industrial and Export Corporation.
It is stated in the reply that the layout out plan has been revised in April- 2019 and copy of the layout plan for Industrial Focal Point, Phase-VIII, Mohali is . As per this plan, the shifting of the green belt area is already reflected. It is submitted by counsel for Punjab Small Industrial and Export Corporation that after cutting 172 trees, 350 trees have already been planted in the shifted and adjoining areas and much larger green belt has come out in 4500 sq. yards and the new green space is only at a distance is 1.09 k.m. from the erstwhile green space.
It is stated that layout plans have been worked out as per the decision taken in the 17th meeting of the Board of Directors of the Punjab State Small Industries Corporation Ltd. held on 24.11.1973 .
An additional affidavit has also been filed by Punjab Small Industrial and Export Corporation on 21.03.2023 and thereof it has been stated that green open space was taken up as 3000 sq. yards and the area where the green belt has now been shifted is 4500 sq. yards. It has been stated that 350 trees of different categories and species i.e. Jamun, Neem, Arjan, Bahera, Mango, Amaltas, Ficusvenjavin, Silver oaks, Chakrassia etc have been planted.
The petitioner has filed replication to the reply and in the replication he has placed on record photograph that major part of this land is a path way. However, on a specific query put by the Court, counsel for the petitioner has not been able to state whether these 350 trees are planted in this area or not .
However, keeping in view that the shifting was done prior to the filing of the writ petition as per the layout plan in the year 2019, the trees have now been planted and therefore, no further directions are required to be issued to the respondents at this stage. The petition is accordingly disposed of.
However, it is observed that since the petitioner is having his own industrial unit in that area, the petitioner will maintain the aforesaid trees.