Noida:

According to the National Highways Authority of India, as many as 7,575 trees have been felled on a nearly 16-km stretch of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway and over 1.76 lakh trees will be planted as compensation.

Responding to a query under sections of the Right to Information Act, NHAI said that of the trees to be felled in the Ganeshpur-Dehradun portion of the project, 4,983 are in Uttarakhand and 2,592 in Uttar Pradesh.

In an RTI query, Noida-based social activist Amit Gupta also sought to know the replanting and survival status of trees on the 15.8-km-long stretch of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway.

In response, Pankaj Kumar Mourya, Public Information Officer and Project Director, said that 155 trees have been shifted in Uttar Pradesh and 121 of them survived the shifting process.

NHAI said that under the compensatory afforestation plan submitted by the forest departments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, they will plant 1,76,050 trees to make up for the felling of 7,575 trees.

“NHAI has paid compensatory afforestation charges totaling Rs 3,60,69,780 to the forest departments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand,” it added.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the 212-km-long, six-lane Delhi-Dehradun Greenfield Access Controlled Expressway will be constructed at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore.

The expressway is expected to be opened to the public next year and is expected to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Dehradun to two and a half hours.

The expressway is divided into four sections starting from Delhi-Mumbai Expressway near Akshardham, Shastri Park, Khajuri Haas, EPE flyover at Mandola Hekla, Baghpat, Shah Mli, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh to Dehradun, Uttarkhand.

A 340-meter-long three-lane tunnel is also being constructed in Datkali, Dehradun at a cost of Rs 1,995 crore, the ministry said in a statement on the project in April 2023.

“Many special provisions have been made for the construction of the entire corridor. Among them, the route from Ganeshpur to Dehradun is safe for wild animals. There are 12 kilometers of elevated roads, 6 animal underground passages, 2 elephant underground passages passage, two major bridges and 13 minor bridges,” MoRTH said.

“In addition, 113 VUPs (vehicle underpasses), LVUPs (light vehicle underpasses), SVUPs (small vehicle underpasses), 5 ROBs, 4 major bridges and 62 bus shelters are being constructed across the expressway. 76 km Access roads, 29 kilometers of elevated roads and 16 entrances and exits are also under construction.” PTI KIS RHL

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