SC questions felling of trees to widen roads
The Supreme Court on Wednesday wondered why felling of trees was necessary to widen roads or to keep them aligned in a straight line, and suggested that roads could instead be zigzag, which would help reduce speed of vehicles and save lives by avoiding accidents.
A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said: “Why do roads have to be laid in a straight line by cutting trees? Keep the roads zigzag. It will reduce speed of vehicles, and also decrease road accidents and save many lives.”
The observation came during hearing of a plea by the Uttar Pradesh government to fell 2,940 trees for the Krishna Govardhan Road project in Mathura.
The Chief Justice asked the state government to look at the value of trees in terms of oxygen supply they will provide in their lifetime, and then evaluate their importance.
