Historic banyans of Chevella saved from the axe, many thanks to citizens’ campaign
A minimal above 20 kilometres from Hyderabad, a stretch of banyan trees together National Freeway 163 in Telangana has been a contested internet site for the past couple decades, with advancement desire teams and environmental defense activists battling more than it. The discussion goes again to 2019, when the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) declared the 4-laning of the stretch of National Highway 163 among Hyderabad and Bijapur (Karnataka), indicating that the proposed enlargement will deal with the problems of repeated mishaps and increased vehicular site visitors, which are typical in this section of the freeway. The area features Chevella Street, which is lined with historic banyans in the 46 kms stretch among Moinabad and Manneguda. The NHAI was all set to axe hundreds of banyans for the street-widening undertaking.
The 900-odd Nizam-period banyans are residence to quite a few animals and bugs, which include 25 fruit-having and insect-feeding on birds, mammals like the chital and the wild boar, and about 20 medicinal vegetation. They present shade to travellers and roadside sellers, who unfold out their wares underneath the cover. On the other hand, for the NHAI, most of these banyans ended up “as great as any other tree”, and so, could be axed for the advancement job.
The banyan trees have been geotagged in an energy to save them.
| Photograph Credit score:
Serish Nanisetti
The Character Enthusiasts of Hyderabad (NLH), a citizens’ collective, vehemently opposed the concept and launched an on-ground marketing campaign, “Save Banyans of Chevella,” in 2019. They executed walks and visits to raise recognition about the banyans though the NHAI continued to deal with the trees as a hurdle. The NLH submitted a petition in the National Environmentally friendly Tribunal (NGT) in December 2021, hard the NHAI on many counts, which include the lack of evaluation of the environmental effect of the proposed tree-felling, not thinking about choices to the highway widening undertaking, between other individuals, even though pointing out that the extend features 5-6 kms of scrub forests future to the highway amongst Mudimyal and Kandlapally.
Also Examine | With no location to get in touch with home, the Gutti Koya tribe fights for survival
Victory for the NLH
On November 6, 2023, in a victory for the NLH’s sustained campaign, the NGT ordered the NHAI to perform an Environmental Effects Assessment (EIA) to minimise the loss of trees. The NGT directed the Ministry of Atmosphere, Forest and Local climate Transform (MoEFCC) to challenge conditions of reference and finish the procedure inside of four months although stressing that significantly less dangerous alternatives for road growth have to have to be figured out.
“When we filed the petition with the NGT, we could not discover a precedent we could cite. There have been a few of situations, but nothing we could quote regarding the authorized defense for these kinds of historic trees,” reported Tejah Balantrapu, a petitioner and member of the NLH.
The trees also guidance the populations living in the villages close by. One particular can avenue vendors promoting refreshing farm deliver, as perfectly as make-shift and everlasting tea stalls.
| Photograph Credit history:
Sanjay Borra
Even further, as per provisions of the EIA notification, 2006 (amended in 2013), NHAI street jobs under 100 km in size do not demand prior environmental clearance. The special ecosystem of the 46 km extend of the Chevella banyans was as a result left unprotected by the law.
“This highway begins somewhere in Warangal and goes to Bijapur. So, in idea, the NHAI can rebuild the complete stretch in patches and hardly ever be expected to carry out an EIA. That is a further trouble we needed to emphasize,” Balantrapu stated. The NGT order hence retains significance not only for minimising the loss to the Chevella banyans but also for related projects elsewhere. “The NGT is a mighty system. Any affect we could have on how they purpose is a welcome alter. That is what this NGT order does for us. It sets a precedent,” Balantrapu reported.
Alongside the NLH, a Hyderabad-based mostly non-earnings identified as the Vata Basis has been campaigning in favour of the banyans considering the fact that 2019. When the NLH preserved that the banyans ought to be still left undisturbed, Vata Foundation presented to translocate the trees as an substitute to slicing them down.
Also Study | Bengaluru floods: When lakes overflowed
In a single of the responses to the NGT petition, the NHAI said that they had been eager to translocate the banyans. In the judgment, the NGT too explained that translocation is practical only for trees which have a circumference of fewer than 65cm and so, unsuitable for trees such as the banyan. It would be a squander of money, the tribunal pointed out, introducing that compensatory afforestation and reforestation to offset the reduction of trees was not a clever solution. The NGT insisted on putting a equilibrium concerning development and environmental conservation, suggesting that the NHAI need to come up with an progressive street structure to be certain an eco-welcoming road layout.
The NLH users insist that they are not in opposition to road-similar jobs but demand from customers that the authorities should innovate and prioritise the conservation of neighborhood ecosystems. Their campaign motto is “Road bhi, jhaad bhi” (Roadways as very well as trees).
Enumeration and geotagging
The NLH-led campaign has shown that geotagging is a precious mechanism to help save trees from staying undervalued and erased in the hurry for highway enlargement. In June 2022, they undertook the task of geotagging all the banyans along the 46 km stretch, constructing an precise databases with their GPS coordinates, a couple of pictures of each and every tree whose circumference was about or in 5 ft, distinguished features these types of as prop roots and situation of branches, among the other factors. It took four days and 20 volunteers to execute it. They recorded 915 banyans in the extend.
One particular of the several big banyans on the street which gives shade to the men and women using the freeway.
| Photograph Credit rating:
Lakshmi Prabhala
The details served as critical evidence to back again their petition. In its responses to the NGT, the NHAI has repeatedly underplayed the banyans’ range and importance. In its January 2023 reaction, the NHAI said that there ended up only 759 banyans, of which 90 for every cent have been not unique. The geotagged database assisted the marketing campaign counter this kind of statements.
The campaign closely monitors the banyans via good friends and volunteers and retains their databases updated. “We submitted an FIR in 2022 more than an unlawful felling,” mentioned Natasha Ramarathnam, a single of the NGT petitioners. The knowledge is accessible to the public.
The way ahead
Even as the NGT order is being celebrated as a win and a precedent, some are nevertheless cautious about the fate of the trees as the order has been to “minimise” the decline.
Highlights
-
The Help save Banyans of Chevella marketing campaign is a citizens’ initiative to conserve historic banyan trees alongside Telangana’s Chevella Road that are threatened by a proposed street-widening venture.
-
In December 2021, the Mother nature Enthusiasts of Hyderabad (NLH), the team driving the campaign, filed a petition in the National Eco-friendly Tribunal (NGT) challenging the undertaking.
-
On November 6, 2023, in a victory for the NLH, the NGT ordered the Nationwide Highway Authority of India to perform an Environmental Impression Assessment to minimise the reduction of trees.
“Translocation is feasible and has to be the previous possibility. Even so, the NGT buy may have shut out that likelihood. It has remaining the fate of the banyans in the fingers of MoEFCC and NHAI,” stated Uday Krishna Peddireddi, founder of Vata Basis. Peddireddi as well had enumerated the banyans and discovered 980 alongside the stretch in 2019. He claimed that about a hundred have been missing for the duration of the COVID-19 lockdowns and programs to rely the trees yet again.
Vata would stage in again if felling permissions are granted following an EIA. Peddireddi hopes to influence the NHAI, failing which, the past vacation resort will be petitioning the court docket.
The NLH members are sceptical about translocation. “Prove us incorrect by exhibiting evidence concerning protocols, processes, and success charges of the organisations associated. These kinds of knowledge ought to be general public and open to audits,” Balantrapu said. The NLH campaigners hope for an best EIA result for the Chevella banyans and are prepared to continue their fight.
A minimal above 20 kilometres from Hyderabad, a stretch of banyan trees together National Freeway 163 in Telangana has been a contested internet site for the past couple decades, with advancement desire teams and environmental defense activists battling more than it. The discussion goes again to 2019, when the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) declared the 4-laning of the stretch of National Highway 163 among Hyderabad and Bijapur (Karnataka), indicating that the proposed enlargement will deal with the problems of repeated mishaps and increased vehicular site visitors, which are typical in this section of the freeway. The area features Chevella Street, which is lined with historic banyans in the 46 kms stretch among Moinabad and Manneguda. The NHAI was all set to axe hundreds of banyans for the street-widening undertaking.
The 900-odd Nizam-period banyans are residence to quite a few animals and bugs, which include 25 fruit-having and insect-feeding on birds, mammals like the chital and the wild boar, and about 20 medicinal vegetation. They present shade to travellers and roadside sellers, who unfold out their wares underneath the cover. On the other hand, for the NHAI, most of these banyans ended up “as great as any other tree”, and so, could be axed for the advancement job.
The banyan trees have been geotagged in an energy to save them.
| Photograph Credit score:
Serish Nanisetti
The Character Enthusiasts of Hyderabad (NLH), a citizens’ collective, vehemently opposed the concept and launched an on-ground marketing campaign, “Save Banyans of Chevella,” in 2019. They executed walks and visits to raise recognition about the banyans though the NHAI continued to deal with the trees as a hurdle. The NLH submitted a petition in the National Environmentally friendly Tribunal (NGT) in December 2021, hard the NHAI on many counts, which include the lack of evaluation of the environmental effect of the proposed tree-felling, not thinking about choices to the highway widening undertaking, between other individuals, even though pointing out that the extend features 5-6 kms of scrub forests future to the highway amongst Mudimyal and Kandlapally.
Also Examine | With no location to get in touch with home, the Gutti Koya tribe fights for survival
Victory for the NLH
On November 6, 2023, in a victory for the NLH’s sustained campaign, the NGT ordered the NHAI to perform an Environmental Effects Assessment (EIA) to minimise the loss of trees. The NGT directed the Ministry of Atmosphere, Forest and Local climate Transform (MoEFCC) to challenge conditions of reference and finish the procedure inside of four months although stressing that significantly less dangerous alternatives for road growth have to have to be figured out.
“When we filed the petition with the NGT, we could not discover a precedent we could cite. There have been a few of situations, but nothing we could quote regarding the authorized defense for these kinds of historic trees,” reported Tejah Balantrapu, a petitioner and member of the NLH.
The trees also guidance the populations living in the villages close by. One particular can avenue vendors promoting refreshing farm deliver, as perfectly as make-shift and everlasting tea stalls.
| Photograph Credit history:
Sanjay Borra
Even further, as per provisions of the EIA notification, 2006 (amended in 2013), NHAI street jobs under 100 km in size do not demand prior environmental clearance. The special ecosystem of the 46 km extend of the Chevella banyans was as a result left unprotected by the law.
“This highway begins somewhere in Warangal and goes to Bijapur. So, in idea, the NHAI can rebuild the complete stretch in patches and hardly ever be expected to carry out an EIA. That is a further trouble we needed to emphasize,” Balantrapu stated. The NGT order hence retains significance not only for minimising the loss to the Chevella banyans but also for related projects elsewhere. “The NGT is a mighty system. Any affect we could have on how they purpose is a welcome alter. That is what this NGT order does for us. It sets a precedent,” Balantrapu reported.
Alongside the NLH, a Hyderabad-based mostly non-earnings identified as the Vata Basis has been campaigning in favour of the banyans considering the fact that 2019. When the NLH preserved that the banyans ought to be still left undisturbed, Vata Foundation presented to translocate the trees as an substitute to slicing them down.
Also Study | Bengaluru floods: When lakes overflowed
In a single of the responses to the NGT petition, the NHAI said that they had been eager to translocate the banyans. In the judgment, the NGT too explained that translocation is practical only for trees which have a circumference of fewer than 65cm and so, unsuitable for trees such as the banyan. It would be a squander of money, the tribunal pointed out, introducing that compensatory afforestation and reforestation to offset the reduction of trees was not a clever solution. The NGT insisted on putting a equilibrium concerning development and environmental conservation, suggesting that the NHAI need to come up with an progressive street structure to be certain an eco-welcoming road layout.
The NLH users insist that they are not in opposition to road-similar jobs but demand from customers that the authorities should innovate and prioritise the conservation of neighborhood ecosystems. Their campaign motto is “Road bhi, jhaad bhi” (Roadways as very well as trees).
Enumeration and geotagging
The NLH-led campaign has shown that geotagging is a precious mechanism to help save trees from staying undervalued and erased in the hurry for highway enlargement. In June 2022, they undertook the task of geotagging all the banyans along the 46 km stretch, constructing an precise databases with their GPS coordinates, a couple of pictures of each and every tree whose circumference was about or in 5 ft, distinguished features these types of as prop roots and situation of branches, among the other factors. It took four days and 20 volunteers to execute it. They recorded 915 banyans in the extend.
One particular of the several big banyans on the street which gives shade to the men and women using the freeway.
| Photograph Credit rating:
Lakshmi Prabhala
The details served as critical evidence to back again their petition. In its responses to the NGT, the NHAI has repeatedly underplayed the banyans’ range and importance. In its January 2023 reaction, the NHAI said that there ended up only 759 banyans, of which 90 for every cent have been not unique. The geotagged database assisted the marketing campaign counter this kind of statements.
The campaign closely monitors the banyans via good friends and volunteers and retains their databases updated. “We submitted an FIR in 2022 more than an unlawful felling,” mentioned Natasha Ramarathnam, a single of the NGT petitioners. The knowledge is accessible to the public.
The way ahead
Even as the NGT order is being celebrated as a win and a precedent, some are nevertheless cautious about the fate of the trees as the order has been to “minimise” the decline.
Highlights
- The Help save Banyans of Chevella marketing campaign is a citizens’ initiative to conserve historic banyan trees alongside Telangana’s Chevella Road that are threatened by a proposed street-widening venture.
- In December 2021, the Mother nature Enthusiasts of Hyderabad (NLH), the team driving the campaign, filed a petition in the National Eco-friendly Tribunal (NGT) challenging the undertaking.
- On November 6, 2023, in a victory for the NLH, the NGT ordered the Nationwide Highway Authority of India to perform an Environmental Impression Assessment to minimise the reduction of trees.
“Translocation is feasible and has to be the previous possibility. Even so, the NGT buy may have shut out that likelihood. It has remaining the fate of the banyans in the fingers of MoEFCC and NHAI,” stated Uday Krishna Peddireddi, founder of Vata Basis. Peddireddi as well had enumerated the banyans and discovered 980 alongside the stretch in 2019. He claimed that about a hundred have been missing for the duration of the COVID-19 lockdowns and programs to rely the trees yet again.
Vata would stage in again if felling permissions are granted following an EIA. Peddireddi hopes to influence the NHAI, failing which, the past vacation resort will be petitioning the court docket.
The NLH members are sceptical about translocation. “Prove us incorrect by exhibiting evidence concerning protocols, processes, and success charges of the organisations associated. These kinds of knowledge ought to be general public and open to audits,” Balantrapu said. The NLH campaigners hope for an best EIA result for the Chevella banyans and are prepared to continue their fight.
