Rail Vikas Nigam Has A Duty To Preserve Ecological Balance: Calcutta High Court Grants Interim Order Halting Uprooting Of Trees

The Calcutta High Court held that Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), CPIO, and the Union of India are obligated to preserve the ecological balance of the city of Kolkata.

The Court while allowing an interim order halting the uprooting of trees, held that indiscriminate cutting down of trees should be prevented at any cost; particularly in the absence of a credible explanation given by the concerned authorities.

The Bench comprising Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Bibhas Ranjan De observed, “It is therefore all the more essential that indiscriminate cutting down of trees should be prevented at any cost; particularly in the absence of a credible explanation given by the concerned authorities. 700 trees mentioned in the petitioner’s letters, is alarming to say the least. Both RVNL and the CPIO have a collective duty to preserve the ecological balance of the city of Kolkata”.

Advocate Siddhartha Mitra appeared for the Petitioner and Advocate Tapan Kumar Mukherjee appeared for the State.

A Public Interest Litigation was filed before the Court seeking directions against the Third Respondent for halting the construction work in the maiden area adjoining the Victoria Memorial. The Petitioner contended that the three letters written to the CPIO under the Right To Information Act (RTI Act) seeking information based on RVNL's decision to construct a Metro Station on the Maidan. The project flagged that the RVNL would uproot 700 trees.

The Court observed that neither the RVNL nor the Union Of India submitted any documents to provide a clear factual picture of what exactly is the proposal.

The Court noted, “Any resident of Kolkata would agree that the Maidan is much more than an open space. The Maidan is one of the lungs of the city and literally serves as a hub of recreational activities to Kolkatans. The Maidan is a metaphor of a city which “breathes” a culture of community activities. In that sense, a Maidan, shorn of trees, would irrevocably change the cityscape to a thirsty and arid space”.

The Bench observed that the city has been identified as the city with the highest rise in average temperatures since 1950, which ought to be a wake-up call. Therefore, the Court allowed a limited order of injunction to immediately halt the uprooting of trees in the Maiden area until the RVNL and Union of India filed their affidavits.

Accordingly, the Court listed the matter for November 9 and allowed an interim order till November 17.

Cause Title: People United For Better Living In Calcutta (PUBLIC) v State of West Bengal & Ors

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