By Karmrath News Desk
Uttar Pradesh: A proposed road-widening project between Ghazi Chauraha and Katra in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh has brought the fate of roadside trees into focus, with an environmental organisation claiming that around 400 mature trees could be affected by the project. The trees reportedly include native species such as mango, mahua, peepal, banyan, neem and jamun. The claim has prompted students and young volunteers to launch a campaign calling for the trees to be protected while allowing road development to continue. On Tuesday, students of Atreya Academy, led by environmentalist and Uttar Pradesh State Youth Award recipient Sundaram Tiwari, tied rakhi-like protection threads, or raksha sutras, around trees as part of the awareness campaign. Some students also hugged the trees to draw attention to their proposed removal.
The campaigners raised slogans including “Who will protect the trees? We will” and “If trees survive, life survives.” The campaign is not being presented as opposition to the road-widening project itself. Instead, the organisers are asking the administration to examine whether changes to the road design, alignment or construction plan could reduce the number of mature trees that would need to be removed.
Environmental group claims around 400 mature trees are affected
Nature Green Future Trust wrote to the Divisional Forest Officer, Pratapgarh, on August 7, seeking a review of the proposed road widening and measures to protect mature trees along the route. In the letter, the organisation said it had received information that a large number of mature roadside trees had been identified for the Pratapgarh-Katra road widening project. It estimated that around 400 mature trees, including mango, mahua, peepal, banyan, neem, jamun and other native species, could be affected.
However, the available letter does not include an official tree census, a tree-wise inventory or a government document confirming that all 400 trees have been formally marked for felling. The figure should therefore be treated as the environmental group's estimate or claim rather than as an independently verified government figure. The organisation has asked the Forest Department to reconsider the matter before taking a final decision on permission for tree felling.
Group questions the need for widening after bypass completion
One of the central arguments raised by the organisation concerns the traffic need for widening the existing road. In its August 7 letter, Nature Green Future Trust said work on the bypass being constructed for Pratapgarh town was almost complete. The organisation pointed out that the stated purpose of the bypass is to reduce traffic pressure within the town and argued that the actual need for widening the Pratapgarh-Katra road should therefore be reassessed. The letter also states that the road has not historically been a major congestion-prone route at the local level. It has asked authorities to assess how much heavy-vehicle traffic is likely to shift to the bypass once it becomes operational.
If the bypass significantly reduces traffic on the existing route, the organisation argues that the need to remove hundreds of mature trees should be reconsidered at both the technical and administrative levels. The available material, however, does not contain traffic-volume data for the Pratapgarh-Katra road, estimates of traffic diversion to the bypass, or the technical justification provided by the road agency for widening the route. Those details would be necessary to independently assess the necessity of the proposed widening.
Campaigners say they are not opposing road development
Sundaram Tiwari, who is leading the campaign, said road development is necessary for connectivity, safety and economic activity, but argued that cutting mature trees should not automatically be treated as the cost of development. He has called on authorities to examine possible changes to the road design, alignment or construction plan that could allow the road to be developed while retaining more mature trees. The same position is reflected in the letter sent by Nature Green Future Trust to the Forest Department. The organisation has asked authorities to consider changes to the road alignment wherever possible to protect the maximum number of mature trees.
Tiwari has also said that the campaign is not against road widening or development. Its stated objective is to push for a model of development in which infrastructure expansion and environmental protection are considered together.
Students use tree protection campaign to raise awareness
Students from Atreya Academy participated in the awareness programme, tying protection threads around trees and appealing to residents to support their conservation. Anindya Shankar, founder and principal of Atreya Academy, spoke to students about environmental protection and urged them to encourage their families and members of the wider community to protect trees and natural resources. Avnish Pandey, Ram Sharma, Neha Pal, Ravi Sharma, Suraj, Anil, Amit Bhatt and Arun Ojha were among those present, along with students, young volunteers and local residents. The campaigners have also announced plans for a peaceful sit-in beginning Monday as part of what they describe as the “Save 400 Trees” campaign.
Trust submits a list of measures to authorities
Nature Green Future Trust has proposed several measures to reduce the need for tree felling. The organisation has asked authorities to reconsider the proposed tree-felling decision before granting final permission. It has also called for a fresh assessment of the traffic load on the Pratapgarh-Katra road once the bypass is substantially complete. The group has proposed a joint site inspection by officials from the Forest Department and Public Works Department along with independent environmental experts. It has also asked for a scientific assessment of every identified tree to determine which trees can be retained. Where possible, the organisation has suggested modifying the road alignment to protect mature trees. It has also proposed relocating trees that can be safely transplanted using appropriate scientific methods.
Calls for technical justification where felling is unavoidable
The organisation has asked authorities to document a clear technical reason for every tree whose removal is considered unavoidable. It has also sought public disclosure of the number and species of trees affected by the project, along with details of the proposed action for each category of tree. The trust has further argued that compensatory plantation should not remain a formal exercise. It has asked for trees planted as compensation to be maintained and protected for at least five years. It has also called for a halt to the felling of identified mature trees until all possible alternatives have been examined.
The ecological value of mature trees is also part of the dispute
According to the environmental group's letter, the trees along the proposed route include mango, mahua, peepal, banyan, neem and jamun. The organisation argues that these trees are more than roadside greenery. It says they provide habitat for birds and other wildlife, contribute to local environmental conditions, help reduce dust and pollution and provide shade to pedestrians and motorists during extreme heat. The letter also highlights the social and cultural importance of species such as mahua, peepal and banyan. However, the available material does not contain a local scientific assessment quantifying the contribution of these trees to carbon storage, temperature regulation, air-quality improvement or biodiversity along the Pratapgarh-Katra road. Such information would be useful in assessing the environmental cost of removing the mature trees.
What happens next will depend on the official assessment
The Nature Green Future Trust has circulated its letter beyond the Pratapgarh Forest Department. Copies were also sent to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force, the District Magistrate of Pratapgarh, the Chief Engineer of the Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department and the Uttar Pradesh State Biodiversity Board. The immediate question is therefore not simply whether the road should be widened, but whether the proposed widening necessarily requires the removal of all the trees reportedly identified as being in the project's path. A proper assessment would require several pieces of information, including the project's technical design, proposed road width, traffic assessment, official tree inventory and the Forest Department's position on tree-felling permission.
At present, the available material establishes that an environmental group has raised concerns about around 400 mature trees and has formally asked authorities to examine alternatives. It does not establish that 400 trees have received final approval for felling. The distinction is important because the campaign's central demand is not to stop road development altogether. It is to determine whether the road can be built with fewer environmental costs.
The question now before the authorities is whether changes in road alignment, design or construction methods can protect a significant number of mature trees while still meeting the project's transport objectives. For the students and volunteers involved in the campaign, that is the basis of their message: the road can be developed, but the loss of mature trees should not be treated as inevitable until all alternatives have been examined.