Uttarakhand Officials Dispel Notion About Indiscriminate Tree Felling In Name Of Development
They claim that every effort is made to save the maximum number of trees whenever a project is being executed
Published : December 28, 2025 at 6:32 PM IST
Dehradun: There's a general public perception that forests are being destroyed in the name of development. But officials deny the charge that there is indiscriminate felling of trees.
Secretary of Public Works Department (PWD), Government of Uttarakhand, Pankaj Pandey claims to be the most distressed whenever a new road is built, and the need to cut down trees arises, as he shares the same sentiments about trees and the environment as everyone else.
In a conversation with ETV Bharat, Panday said that the PWD's primary focus during road construction is to minimise environmental damage. He said that when a road proposal is approved and its alignment is determined, the department first attempts to approve an alignment with minimal tree cover. Only when there is no alternative, forest land or tree-covered areas are considered.
Pandey said that efforts are made to ensure that Himalayan tree species such as cedar, rhododendron and oak are not cut down. It is only when national security concerns arise, and border roads or security-related projects are to be built, that such trees are cut down to build roads in those areas. He cited the recent example of the Gangotri Highway.
“The detailed project report (DPR) approved a 12-metre road width, which was reduced to 11 metres after assessing the ground conditions. This one-metre reduction saved approximately 1,000 trees from being cut down. Similarly, whenever a road project is developed, every aspect is considered. The effort is always to balance ecology and economy,” Pandey said.
He went on to explain that sometimes, when no alternative is available and forest land has to be used, the Forest Department is provided with twice the amount of land taken as per the rules. Furthermore, the Department is compensated for planting twice the number of trees cut. The Department is paid for this.
In 2023, approximately 50 hectares of forest land was acquired for building 56 km of roads and in exchange, the PWD handed over 101 hectares of land to the Forest Department besides paying Rs 26.84 crore in compensation.
In 2024, approximately 18.45 hectares of forest land was acquired for constructing 36 km of roads and 35.80 hectares of land was given to the Forest Department in exchange along with a compensation of Rs 19.84 crore.
In 2025, the PWD used 59.44 hectares of forest land to build approximately 107 km of roads. The PWD gave 118.66 hectares to the Forest Department and paid Rs 19.72 crore.
Meanwhile, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Ranjan Kumar Mishra explained that Uttarakhand is a forest-rich state with rugged geographical conditions where a large number of people live in villages surrounded by forests. They also need basic amenities like roads, electricity, and water. The Forest Conservation Act was enacted with this in mind, ensuring a balance between ecology and economy.
According to Mishra, when any project is developed, care is taken to minimise the use of forest land and reduce the cutting of trees. Nevertheless, trees are required for development purposes. However, the area covered by the trees cut is considered. If trees are cut in one hectare, the Forest Department will receive two hectares of land for compensatory tree planting. Similar trees are replanted at the same location as the ones that are cut, but this takes time. Wildlife is also taken into consideration before a project is approved.
“There is no shortage of land in Uttarakhand for tree plantations to compensate for forest loss due to development projects. The Forest Department has even established a land bank for this purpose. Even if Uttarakhand still lacks space for tree planting, the Government of India has made provisions for compensatory tree plantations in the neighbouring states. However, the Uttarakhand Forest Department has not had to travel outside its state so far," Mishra said.
In the last 45 years, from the time of undivided Uttar Pradesh to Uttarakhand’s birth till now, development works have been carried out on 43,000 hectares of forest land for which the Forest Department claims to have done tree plantation on 86,000 hectares. Uttarakhand has the highest forest cover among the states of the country.
Mishra disclosed that last year the Forest Department allocated 446 hectares of land to various departments for developmental work. Since the Forest Conservation Act came into force in India in 1980, the Uttarakhand Forest Department has allocated approximately 43,000 hectares of land for development work in the past 45 years. As per the standard norms, the Forest Department has received twice that amount from various departments for tree plantation.
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