NGT orders 7,000 trees planted as compensation for Bhopal stadium felling
The NGT has directed the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to plant 7,000 trees by September 30, 2026, as compensation for around 700 trees felled for a road linked to a proposed cricket stadium in Bhopal.
The National Green Tribunal has directed the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to plant 7,000 trees as compensation for the felling of around 700 trees for a road being built for a proposed cricket stadium in Bhopal.
The order, issued on Wednesday, requires the plantation to be completed within the current season, by September 30, 2026. A bench comprising Judicial Member Sheo Kumar Singh and Expert Member Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi said the exercise must amount to genuine compensatory plantation, with the survival of the plants maintained at 100%.
The tribunal was hearing proceedings on the felling of more than 700 trees and construction activity in the catchment area of the Bhoj Wetland near Neelbad-Barkheda Nathu in Bhopal, where the stadium and the associated road project have been under scrutiny.
The applicant, environmentalist Nitin Saxena, had contended that the trees were cut for road construction while the required compensatory plantation had not been carried out, despite funds having been deposited with the Revenue Department.
During the hearing, counsel for the State, Prashant M. Harne, said steps were being taken to undertake plantation during the current rainy season. Officials Shweta Singh, an SDO, and Priti also took part in the proceedings and briefed the tribunal on the authorities' actions.
According to their submissions, some plantation was being taken up during the rainy season, but the process had been delayed because budgetary provisions were not available. They said the department was making efforts to complete the plantation in the current season after the allocation of funds, and that preparations had been finished. The officials also cited the non-availability of land as a reason the plantation could not be taken up earlier.
The tribunal directed that an action-taken report, along with photographs, be filed before the next date of hearing after the plantation is completed.
The proceedings stem from a broader environmental challenge over construction in the catchment of the Bhoj Wetland, one of Bhopal's most important ecological systems. The wetland, made up of the Upper and Lower Lakes, is recognised as a Ramsar Site of international importance and is protected under the regulatory framework governing wetlands.
The applicant has argued that the cricket stadium and the road construction are taking place within the wetland's catchment area, raising concerns about the long-term impact of construction on the lakes and the surrounding ecology. Questions have also been raised about approvals for the stadium, including an allegation that it is being built without the requisite Town and Country Planning approval. Another issue placed before the tribunal is that, according to revenue records, a portion of the land in the area has been reserved for a proposed lake.
The applicant's case is that construction within the catchment, combined with the removal of hundreds of trees, could have consequences extending beyond the immediate project site, since the catchment forms part of the ecological system feeding the Bhoj Wetland.