High Court allows translocation of banyan tree for flyover work

PANAJI

The High Court of Bombay at Goa has permitted the translocation of the last remaining tree to facilitate the continuation of the Porvorim flyover work but with strict precautions. The court, while disposing of the Miscellaneous Civil Application regarding the unplanned manner in which the authorities and the consultant handled the earlier translocations, directed that the process be strictly monitored by forest officers.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Advocate General Devidas Pangam submitted the minutes of the order along with measures to be undertaken and recommendations by experts suggested by the applicant. The division bench of Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita Mehta accepted recommendations with necessary steps to be implemented during and after the translocation also agreed upon.

The banyan tree at Vodakkodem, Porvorim will be closely monitored.

Regarding the five other trees whose translocation was criticized by the court, no further orders were passed. The Court had earlier pulled up the authorities after a private consultant’s report pointed out several lapses in the translocation process.

Residents and activists had raised strong objections to the manner in which five age-old trees, including two banyan trees, were translocated by Hyderabad-based firm Doctor Trees India Pvt Ltd. They alleged that one of the trees had been infested by mites and that authorities had ignored key guidelines of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), particularly the mandatory three-month pre-treatment period.

The High Court had earlier stayed the translocation of the only banyan tree until further orders.

A report by Director of Landscape Designer and Ecological Consultant Parag Mody warned that the translocation was poorly executed with little regard for the trees’ survival. His latest report also referred to the precarious condition of the relocated trees and stressed the need for immediate corrective measures. “While some trees remain in shock, they are not dead. However, one of the two translocated banyan trees is unlikely to survive,” the report mentioned.