The National Green Tribunal principal bench issued a stern environmental compliance directive on Thursday, instructing the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to plant seven thousand indigenous broadleaf saplings across designated ecological corridors in Bhopal. The punitive remediation order was issued after an expert judicial inspection revealed that hundreds of mature forest trees were felled without valid statutory clearances during civil construction of arterial approach roads to a proposed sports complex.
Judicial members observed that compensatory afforestation must adhere strictly to a ten-to-one planting ratio, mandating that newly planted trees be maintained and monitored with geotagged photographic logs for a minimum survival period of five years. The tribunal directed the state forest conservator to deposit a performance guarantee with the central pollution control board to ensure unhindered compliance.
Local environmental action groups and resident welfare societies commended the judicial intervention, pointing out that unchecked urban road expansions have systematically eroded Bhopal’s contiguous urban forest cover and heightened urban heat island effects. The green bench directed district revenue authorities to submit a preliminary compliance report accompanied by drone survey footage prior to the next scheduled hearing.
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Sources:
https://indianexpress.com/article/education/today-news-headlines-for-school-assembly-september-17-2026-india-summons-paks-charge-daffaires-over-naval-ship-collision-10880060/