Calcutta HC Restrains RVNL from Uprooting Trees for Metro Station Construction

The Calcutta High Court has issued a restraining order against Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) to halt the uprooting of 700 trees, which was intended for the construction of a Metro station in the Maidan area of the city.

A bench comprising Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Bibhas Ranjan De presided over a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by People United for Better Living in Calcutta (PUBLIC), a non-profit and non-political citizen action group. The bench emphasized the importance of preventing the indiscriminate felling of trees, noting that the Maidan area serves as the lungs of the city rather than just being an open space.

The bench passed a limited order of injunction on RVNL to cease the uprooting of trees in the Maidan area. The matter is scheduled for a hearing on November 9.

The construction of the Metro station is part of the Joka-Esplanade corridor project. During the hearing, it was observed that RVNL had no representation, while the counsel for the West Bengal government asserted that the state had no involvement in the matter.

The petitioner raised concerns that the uprooting of trees was slated to begin after the Durga Puja festival this year. The court’s primary concern is the unexplained and seemingly random uprooting of trees in the Maidan area.

The bench pointed out that due to the absence of representation from the respondent (RVNL), the court is currently unable to obtain a clearer and more factual understanding of the situation.