Banyan trees axed between Jagtial-Karimnagar for highway expansion

Even before the ink dried on the historic order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) providing reprieve to the banyans on National Highway (NH)-163 between Moinabad and Manneguda, famously known as Chevella Banyans, the axe has fallen on trees of the same species on another NH stretch in Telangana.

Several banyan trees, aged over 100 years, have been axed on the National Highway 563 between Jagtial and Karimnagar in the past few days, eyewitnesses say.

Photographs shared by travellers on the road showed at least five trees hacked at different levels. A few trunks have been axed completely, and a few others to the middle. Some other trees showed indiscriminate pruning, with large branches lopped off along with the lush green canopy. Banyans with huge trunks and considerable growth of prop roots formed significant portion of the trees axed.

Charla Pavan, a frequent traveller, says that the road has at least 50 banyan trees aged over 100 years old on both sides. The axed ones are closer to Kondagattu, which is a famous temple town of Telangana closer to Jagtial district.

While it is yet to be established who resorted to this act, it is reported that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has cleared a project for four-laning of the highway between Jagtial and Karimnagar at a cost of ₹2,484 crore. It is part of four national highways projects approved for the State, at an expenditure of ₹10,034 crore.

Banyans are a protected species under the WALTA (Water, Land and Trees) Act, 2002, and to remove them even outside the forests, permission from the Forest Department is mandatory. Asked for his version, District Forest Officer of Jagtial M. Ravi Prasad said he was not aware of the tree felling.

“Should battles be waged for protection of trees every time they decide to expand a highway? Shouldn’t they have learnt their lesson from the instance of Chevella banyans? How thoughtless is it to axe such ecologically significant species,” said Uday Krishna Peddireddi of Vata Foundation.

Approval for felling of more than 900 banyan trees on Moinabad-Manneguda stretch in 2017 for expansion of NH 163 led to a citizens’ movement and long drawn legal battle at the NGT, which reached its culmination very recently, with a compromise between NHAI and the petitioners. As per the compromise, the NHAI agreed for retention of majority trees and translocation of the rest to the road margins.