An expert committee constituted on the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to investigate different environmental aspects of the proposed 111-km Upper Ganga Canal Road project has asked the green tribunal for more time to prepare a final, detailed report and also share a carbon impact assessment report .

The 111 km project, also known as the Kanwar Marg project, stretches from Muradnagar in Ghaziabad to Purkaji near the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border. It was given the green light by the Uttar Pradesh forest department in January and the proposal stated that 112,000 trees and shrubs would be felled in the protected forest area of ​​three forest divisions – Ghaziabad, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar.

On February 1, HT highlighted the concerns of environmental activists who warned that felling such a large number of trees would negatively affect the biodiversity of the region. Based on the HT report, the NGT registered a suo motu petition on March 13 and named officials from UP and Uttarakhand as respondents.

During the hearing on November 6, the expert committee submitted an interim report to the court, which stated: “The Public Works Department (PWD) will evaluate the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of logging in the said area and submit a detailed report. This will address air quality and other ecological concerns.” “It will also include potential repercussions.”

The interim report also stated that 17 thousand 607 trees were cut down in 3 districts as of August 9.

The NGT then directed the committee to “expedite the final report and submit it without any delay”. The green court also observed that permission was given to cut 112,722 trees but currently only 33,776 trees have been decided to be cut.

The order was uploaded online on November 8.

During the hearing, the committee noted in its report that PWD collaborated with environmental experts to prepare a carbon impact assessment report that “will analyze the overall carbon footprint of the project and include a report with the environmental impact assessment.”

HT on Saturday reached out to disabled executive engineer Ram Raja, who did not respond to calls for comment.

The NGT then directed the UP government to clarify whether the number of trees to be felled was calculated in accordance with the provisions of the UP Trees Protection Act, 1976.

“The government will also clarify whether plants, trees, shrubs, etc. cut down during road construction and not counted among the 33,766 trees fall within the definition of trees under the UP Tree Preservation Act. The state of UP will submit the affidavit of additional chief secretary (environment) clearly stating the number of trees to be felled during the construction of the said Kawar Marg and the said number will be declared keeping in mind the relevant legislation. The court held that the provisions of the UP Tree Preservation Act, 1976 are applicable.

The NGT added that it should also be clearly stated whether trees have been cut beyond the recommended tree width of 15/20m and “if so, the person responsible for the same”.

The Survey of India (SoI) is also a participant in the case and the NGT, which had sought to find out the extent of tree felling for the project by comparing satellite images between October 2023 and October 2024, had directed the agency to submit a report. It shows the comparative position of trees in the three counties.

However, SoI submitted a compliance report to the court on October 29, stating that satellite images of the relevant area were available only for 2023.