NGT Mandates CEC Approval, Geo-Tagging for Tree Felling in Large Projects

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Central Bench in Bhopal has laid down new guidelines for tree cutting in major construction projects, following a case involving the proposed felling of 700 trees in Neelbad, Bhopal.

The NGT directed that any project involving the felling of 25 or more trees must obtain approval from a newly constituted Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC). It also mandated a geo-tagging system, a statewide tree census in Madhya Pradesh, and compensatory afforestation at a 10 to 100 times ratio.

While environmentalists welcomed the move, they raised concerns over missing implementation timelines and a lack of clarity regarding the CEC's funding and staffing.