Yogi's 'pet project' awaits major tweak; UP ready to revise kanwar corridor plan to save trees

Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh government’s plan for the Kanwar corridor had been stalled because 1.1 lakh trees and shrubs had to be cleared for the road to take shape across the three districts of Ghaziabad, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar. Now, the state government has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it is ready to amend the plan.

According to a Times of India report, the state informed the tribunal of its plan to modify the corridor's alignment, reducing tree and shrub clearance by approximately 66% compared to the original proposal. It requested three weeks to present updates on the revised alignment. The NGT has set the next hearing for February 28.

In February 2023, the NGT took suo motu cognizance of the tree felling and directed the formation of a joint committee that included the director of the Forest Survey of India, a senior scientist from the MoEFCC, the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh or their representative, and the district magistrate of Meerut as the coordinating agency.

After identifying discrepancies in the committee's interim report, the tribunal requested a revised submission, which was presented on January 17.

On January 20, the NGT bench of chairperson Prakash Shrivastava, judicial members Sudhir Agarwal and Arun Kumar Tyagi, and expert member Afroz Ahmad reviewed the extent of tree felling required for the construction of the 111 km corridor—from Muradnagar in Ghaziabad to Purkaji near the Uttarakhand border.

The NGT bench noted: "…the state of Uttar Pradesh submits that for the remaining road, the alignment is proposed to be changed for which the irrigation department has given NOC, and the state will now seek all other clearances, including EIA for the changed alignment from the competent authorities."

With the changed alignment, the felling of trees will be cut down to about two-thirds of the originally proposed felling of trees," the bench further added.

The Union Ministry of Forests and Climate Change, in January 2023, approved the clearance of 1.1 lakh trees and shrubs across Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, and Ghaziabad for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s flagship project aimed at providing an alternative route for Kanwar Yatra pilgrims.

The alternative route will cut through districts of western UP and Uttarakhand along the right bank of the Upper Ganga canal for the benefit of pilgrims.

The project has faced multiple challenges regarding environmental clearances and the scale of deforestation required since being commissioned in 2018. It was approved by the UP government’s expenditure and finance committee in 2020.

A survey revealed that the earlier alignment required clearing 1.1 lakh trees, including 4,197 in Ghaziabad, 66,685 in Meerut, and 16,873 in Muzaffarnagar, with the rest being shrubs.

The project impacts 222 hectares of forested land—24.7 hectares in Ghaziabad, 84.6 hectares in Meerut, and 113.7 hectares in Muzaffarnagar. The 111 km corridor spans 56 km in Muzaffarnagar, 42 km in Meerut, and 12 km in Ghaziabad.