M A I N   N E W S

Follow-up
Trees sold for a mere trifle
by Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 13 — The Ambala Division of the Northern Railway identified nearly 50,000 trees to be felled during the current financial year, most of which have already been axed for a return of Rs 39 lakh so far. The division expects to generate a total revenue of Rs 70 lakh from trees alone this year, says the Divisional Regional Manager, Mr Vijay Kumar.

The felling, he admits, is all over the division, which is spread over five states.

"Old trees have to be felled to make room for new ones", he says, maintaining that only "mature" trees are being cut, promising to look into the felling of "young and immature trees" at Chandigarh's "Rail Vana", where many of the eucalyptus trees cut so far were not even three to four- years old against a normal harvesting age of seven to 10 years.

Mr Vijay Kumar claims that one lakh saplings are planted every year in the Ambala Division. "We have to generate some income and also produce wood for its multiple use. Tell me where from will wood come for furniture, for fuel and for use in buildings? We are not 'de-greening' but 'greening' by planting one lakh saplings a year and cutting only 50,000 trees."

*Dr Das (1981) assessed the value of services rendered by a tree of 50 tonnes during 50 years. It does not include the value of timber, fruit and flowers. Source: Environmental Conservation and Planning by Rajendra Menaria; Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi.

Railway officials maintain that the government has to decide whether it wants to generate revenue or preserve the environment.

While 50,000 trees felled or destined to be cut will generate on an average Rs 140 each, the actual value of these trees works out to be much more. According to environmentalists, most of the mango, shisham or other trees being felled at Kalka alone are worth Rs 5 lakh each to Rs 10 lakh each.

The growing emphasis of the Ministry of Environment and Forests on maintaining the ecological balance and protecting the environment from hazardous chemicals and chemical gases by extending green cover notwithstanding, the action of the Ministry of Railways has been to the contrary.

For example, in Chandigarh what used to be a green and well-maintained "Rail Vana" on either side of the main terminal building is now a huge piece of barren land with a few hundred young and immature eucalyptus plants left. Other species fortunately have not been touched in Chandigarh. But reducing a green station to a bald and naked strip of land after burning fallen dry leaves and twigs makes a pathetic sight.

The situation is no better at Kalka either where the once green compound of the Railway Colony has been virtually reduced to a brown and bald piece of land. Residents of the colony are unhappy over the fellings.

The claim of the railway officials of planting one lakh saplings each year is not substantiated by ground realities. A visit to various railway stations in the division, rail yards and even the divisional headquarters in Ambala shows that not even one-fifth of the saplings were planted during the past five years.

Even the fixing of the price of the "felled trees" by measuring their "girth" alone appears to be old. For example, a 50-year-old shisham tree will be worth several thousands not "hundreds" of rupees for its wood alone. The same may be true for other species of trees. Even the value of eucalyptus trees is more than what is being paid to the division here.

How valuable is a tree*?                            Value in Rs

Production of oxygen                                 2,50,000

Control of air pollution                                5,00,000

Control of soil erosion and soil fertility           2,50,000

Recycling of water and control of humidity     3,00,000

Bird and animal shelter                                2,50,000

Protein conversion                                     20,000

Total                                                                   15,70,000