Guwahati: Activists have opposed the felling of trees along the banks of the Deepor Beel, a Ramsar site near Guwahati, for an elevated railway corridor, even as they and the railways describe the project as necessary to prevent elephant deaths in train collisions.Environmentalists demanded that valuable trees along the four-kilometre foothill stretch be transplanted instead of cut, but said their demand has not been accepted so far.Pramod Kalita, an environmental activist from the Deepor Beel area, said many of the trees being removed are Segun (teak) and claimed more trees have been marked in the Deepor Beel area and near Rani Reserve Forest. In a memorandum to the East Kamrup Division DFO, Kalita wrote, “These trees are very important for environmental prospect, bird resting, sometimes nesting of Copper Smith Barbet, Blue-throated Barbet etc. as well as beautification of the Deepor Beel area.” He earlier filed an objection with the PCCF and head of forest force, Assam.Kalita cited conditions laid down by the deputy inspector general of forests (central) requiring the user agency to explore translocating the maximum number of identified trees and to ensure felling only when unavoidable under strict supervision of the state forest department.He said, “Many trees that could have been translocated have already been cut or are about to be cut. We are not against development. In fact such an elevated corridor was much needed to save wildlife from coming into collision with trains.”Kamrup East DFO Ashok Kumar Dev Choudhury said translocation was not feasible and that more than 100 trees would need to be cut. “All the trees that come in the proposed plan have grown bigger and were not in a stage to be translocated,” Choudhury told TOI, as the felling continued. He said rain in recent days slowed the clearing work but it would continue.“Major chunk of the trees that are planned to be cut are yet to be chopped off. Hardly about 25 trees were cut in the last few days,” he said. He also said no trees would be cut inside Rani Reserve Forest.NF Railway CPRO KK Sharma said a compensatory afforestation programme is underway and 880 new trees will be planted in place of those removed. He said the plan was finalised based on a World Wildlife Institute, Dehradun, report, and referred to a committee formed by the NGT to examine the proposal. “As per recommendation of World Wildlife Institute Dehradun, the development and submission of Environment Management Plan (EMP) prior to commencement of work at site by the contractor is being ensured,” Sharma said.
