Mute victims of 'flight safety'

The Air force is repeatedly in news for felling trees. last year, 163 trees were cut in the Chandigarh Transit Camp, allegedly at the behest of the Air Force authorities. Though the trees are cut to ensure ‘flight safety’, this argument sounds unconvincing at times, contends Jatinder Singh Bedi

THE Air Force and the Army have differing attitudes towards afforestation.

The Army undertakes countrywide tree plantation drives every monsoon. Ecological committees, formed at the command level, regularly monitor the plantation and seek sapling census. The success of its plantation programmes can be seen not only at Chandimandir but in the remote deserts of Pokhran, Jaisalmer and Mahajan too.

On the contrary, the Air Force is repeatedly in news for felling trees. Mostly, ‘flight safety’ is cited as the reason for felling trees. Such actions eclipse the plantation ventures undertaken by this force. For example, the Air Force chopped five lakh trees in Hindon. In 1997, 163 trees were cut at the Chandigarh Transit Camp (TC). They were felled allegedly at the behest of the Air Force authorities as they were within 500 metres of the runway. These included 31 mango, 16 neem and 58 eucalyptus trees. Trees are also chopped within the Chandigarh airfield area.

Such incidents have stained the image of the Air Force. Though the trees are cut to ensure ‘flight safety’, this argument sounds unconvincing at times.

Trees are stated to attract birds. These birds damage aircraft by hitting or getting sucked into its engine. But it is one of the many factors that endanger the aircraft. For instance, at the Chandigarh air-base the ‘aircraft approach funnel’ has been violated at both ends. At one end there are ‘illegal construction in Zirakpur, while at the other end there are jhuggi-jhompris. Besides, some defence buildings also fall within this zone.

The need for flight safety definitely cannot be undermined. But it takes over a decade for a sapling to form a tree, and self-created threats to flight safety have been overlooked all these years. The Army and the Air Force coexist at almost all stations. A lack of coordination between the two also leads to haphazard plantation and subsequent felling. The Transit Camp is a live example of this. The felling here has been compensated by planting equal number of trees in lieu of the number felled. The new trees have been planted within metres of the those felled. The trees will again have to be cut after a few years.

There is, thus, a need for the two forces to chalk out a coordinated plantation plan for the surrounding areas at the time of setting up an air-base. The ‘zero plantation zone’, as found in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai airports, should be demarcated here too. Suitable varieties of trees and shrubs should be selected for plantation. The neighbouring Army units and civilian population should be educated on this plan. This can be done through frequent liaison and interaction. The neighbouring inhabitants should be made aware of the ‘zero plantation zone’ so that the trees planted by them do not have to be cut after years of rearing.

The Army does not seem to relish the idea of felling trees for flight safety. At Chandigarh, while the ‘sentenced trees’ in the Army areas have been chopped, those within the Air Force precincts have remained untouched, according to sources. This has irked the Army cadres. They contend that while the Army reluctantly felled the trees for the Air Force, the Air Force itself has not taken any action to cut trees in its area.

Officials of the Defence Estates attribute this to a technical hitch. According to the Defence Estate sources, the trees that are planted by troops from within regimental resources belong to them. They are the beneficiaries of the produce of these trees. Though the decision to dispose of the trees is taken by the Defence Estates, the felling is ordered by the Station Commander. The Defence Estates is the only custodian of trees on defence land. The disposal procedure is carried out as per the cantonment laws. If, however, the trees have been planted by the Forest Department, they are governed by the Conservation (Forest) Act 1980. The permission for felling this category of trees is to be obtained from the Ministry of Forests.

Most of the Air Force trees at Chandigarh fall in the latter category. The Air Force had got the trees planted by the Forest Department as it was facing a paucity of resources, say defence officials. Now even when they need to remove the trees for legitimate reasons, they have to undergo a tedious and time-consuming procedure.

Flight safety needs notwithstanding, the environment conscious society today desires a farsighted planning from the Air Force to save the trees from getting felled.