SC halts tree felling for Metro work near Victoria Memorial

Kolkata: The Supreme Court directed that no new trees would be felled or transplanted till the next hearing, for the Metro Rail project in Kolkata’s Maidan area, adjacent to the Victoria Memorial.

This decision came on Friday from a bench consisting of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan.

The Apex Court had issued notices to the West Bengal government, the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), and others, seeking their responses to a plea challenging the Calcutta High Court’s June 20 verdict. The Calcutta High Court had previously dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the organisation ‘People United for Better Living in Kolkata’ (PUBLIC), which sought an immediate suspension of all construction activities in the Maidan region. Initially, the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) had planned to cut down 700 trees for the Joka-Esplanade metro line project. This number was later increased to 946 trees due to the need for constructing three stations at Victoria Memorial, Park Street, and Esplanade, raising significant environmental concerns.

Although the Calcutta High Court had dismissed PUBLIC’s petition, the Supreme Court’s recent order allows construction to proceed but prohibits any further tree removal or transplantation until the next hearing.

The bench stated: “Till the next date, we direct that no new trees would be felled or transplanted.” The Apex Court also instructed RVNL’s counsel: “You can continue with the work but don’t fell trees from today.” The matter has been scheduled for a follow-up hearing in three weeks.