The Garden Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Imambada Police Station, on Sunday, conducted inspection of Ajni Railway Colony for illegal tree felling by the contractor of Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA). RLDA is constructing a parking area under their Ajni station development project that was initiated recently. For the parking lot, the green activists are alleging that the contractor chopped off hundreds of full grown trees on the same land where the Inter Modal Station (IMS) in Ajni was proposed.

A team of Imambada Police Station visited the spot after getting complaints from green activists on Sunday and found that the labourers are working on the land. The contractor admitted that trees were chopped off without seeking permission from any authority. During the visit, police asked the contractor to stop the work. Similarly, as per schedule, a three-member team of Garden Department started panchanama of the spot and started tree count of the locality which was already done by NMC on 44 acre land for the IMS project that’s under trial. As per sources, the tree counting process of the area will take a few days. The NMC will get the exact number of trees cut for the parking area project, only after this process. The first phase of IMS project was proposed to be carried out on 44 acre land in Ajni Railway Colony. For the project, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) applied to the Garden Department to fell 1,200 trees in the area. After objection of citizens, NMC conducted the tree count process and found that there were 6,953 would be felled for the project. After, so much of protest for tree felling, NHAI denied to initiate the project at Ajni area.

Last year in the month of August, RLDA decided to initiate the Ajni railway station project and floated a tender for it. For the project, RLDA asked to fell around 200 trees in the locality to local tree authority but there was no mention of tree felling for parking area, said an activist. But, in last few days, the matter came in limelight when the residents of the colony raised concern about the tree felling in Ajni Railway Colony area for parking area. “We registered a police complaint in Imambada Police Station on Sunday morning. In reply a team of the police station visited the site and enquired the labourers and contractor at the spot,” Jaideep Das, former Honorary Wildlife Warden told The Hitavada. “There is no problem with development of Ajni railway station because it was going as per the plan. But chopping off of hundreds of trees for construction of parking area is wrong and we are protesting against this illegal tree felling,” said Das.