The National Green Tribunal directed the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to plant 7,000 trees by September 30 as compensation for the felling of around 700 trees for the road being constructed for the proposed cricket stadium in Bhopal.

The direction came on Wednesday in proceedings concerning the felling of more than 700 trees and construction activity in the catchment area of the Bhoj Wetland near Neelbad-Barkheda Nathu in Bhopal, where a cricket stadium and an associated road project have been under scrutiny.

The bench comprising Judicial Member Sheo Kumar Singh and Expert Member Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi specifically directed the Forest Department to ensure the exercise constitutes genuine compensatory plantation and that the survival of the trees is maintained.

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“In light of the cutting of 700 trees, we expect that the Forest Department, Social Forestry, may plant the trees at a ratio of 10 times i.e., 7,000 trees, in the present season and the exercise should be completed by September 30, 2026,” the tribunal said in its order.

The tribunal further directed that an action-taken report along with photographs be filed before the next date of hearing after completion of the plantation. Importantly, it added: “It is made clear that the Forest Department must ensure that it is compensatory plantation and survival of the plants must be up to 100%.”

The direction came against the backdrop of the applicant, environmentalist Nitin Saxena’s, principal grievance that more than 700 trees had already been cut for road construction, while the required compensatory plantation had not been undertaken despite funds having been deposited with the Revenue Department.

During the hearing, counsel appearing for the State, Prashant M. Harne, told the tribunal that steps were being taken to undertake plantation during the current rainy season.

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Officials Shweta Singh, SDO, and Priti also participated in the proceedings and informed the tribunal about the steps being taken by the authorities. According to their submissions, some plantation was being undertaken during the rainy season, but the process had been delayed due to the non-availability of budgetary provisions. They said that after budget allocation, the department was making efforts to complete the plantation during the current rainy season and that preparations had been completed.

The officials also cited non-availability of land as one of the reasons why plantation could not earlier be undertaken.

The proceedings arise from a larger environmental challenge concerning construction in the catchment of the Bhoj Wetland, one of Bhopal’s most important ecological systems. The Bhoj Wetland, comprising the Upper and Lower Lakes, is recognised as a Ramsar Site of international importance and is protected under the regulatory framework governing wetlands.

The applicant contended that the cricket stadium and the road construction are taking place within the wetland’s catchment area, raising concerns over the long-term impact of construction activity on the lakes and their surrounding ecology.

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The application has also raised questions about the approvals for the stadium. It was alleged that the stadium is being constructed without the requisite Town and Country Planning (TNCP) approval. Another issue raised before the tribunal is that, according to revenue records, a portion of the land in the area has been reserved for a proposed lake.

The applicant’s case is that construction within the catchment area, coupled with the removal of hundreds of trees, could have consequences extending beyond the immediate project site because the catchment forms part of the ecological system feeding the Bhoj Wetland.