The court was firm in its stance on environmental issues, stating, “There should be no mercy in environmental case. Felling a large number of trees is worse than killing a human.”
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has made a strong statement on environmental protection, saying that cutting down a large number of trees is “worse than killing a human.” The court fined a man Rs 1 lakh for each tree he illegally cut down in the protected Taj Trapezium Zone.
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A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan made this observation while rejecting the plea of Shiv Shankar Agarwal, who had chopped down 454 trees in the restricted area of Mathura-Vrindavan.
The court was firm in its stance on environmental issues, stating, “There should be no mercy in environmental case. Felling a large number of trees is worse than killing a human.”
The top court stressed that the loss of 454 trees will have a long-lasting impact. “It will take at least 100 years minimum to again regenerate or recreate the green cover created by 454 trees which were blatantly cut without permission,” the bench noted.
The Supreme Court accepted the findings of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which recommended imposing a penalty of Rs 1 lakh per tree cut illegally on Dalmia Farms in Mathura-Vrindavan.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented Agarwal, admitted his client’s mistake and requested the court to reduce the fine. However, the Supreme Court refused to lower the penalty.
Instead, it directed that Agarwal should undertake plantation at a nearby site. The court also made it clear that the contempt plea filed against him will only be disposed of after he complies with the order.
In an important decision, the Supreme Court also recalled its 2019 order that had removed the requirement of prior permission to cut trees on non-forest and private lands within the Taj Trapezium Zone. This means that now, permission will again be needed before cutting trees in this ecologically sensitive area.
Case Title – MC Mehta v. Union of India & Ors.| Writ Petition (Civil) No. 13381/1985
