The Environment Ministry of the Government of India has given approval to cut more than 1 lakh trees. For what? The matter is of the ambitious Kanwar Corridor of Uttar Pradesh government. Yagi Adityanath’s government was busy in taking all kinds of approvals for this 111 kilometer corridor for a long time. Now that the permission to cut trees has been received from the Government of India, it is expected that the work on the corridor will start in the month of February.
Of the trees to be cut, about 25 thousand saplings are spread in Ghaziabad, about 67 thousand in Meerut and about 17 thousand in Muzaffarnagar. In some media reports, the number of trees to be cut and uprooted has been stated to be more than 1 lakh 10 thousand. However, before uprooting or cutting these trees, the PW Department of Uttar Pradesh will have to deposit about Rs 50 lakh each in the forest divisions of Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad. This money will be deposited for the purpose of planting necessary saplings in place of the cut trees.
The central government then gave approval
In fact, according to the laws regarding environment, if trees are cut for any project, then the concerned department or agency has to arrange land for planting trees somewhere else. PWD i.e. Public Works Department of Uttar Pradesh Government is busy in bringing this entire project to the ground. Last year, when the PWD department identified more than 222 hectares of land in Lalitpur district where necessary plantation would be done to replace the cut trees, the project started getting speedy approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. .
What will change, claims the government
This corridor will connect Purkaji of Muzaffarnagar to Muradnagar of Ghaziabad. This two-lane Kanwar corridor will pass through Sardhana and Jani areas of Meerut. The entire route will follow the Upper Ganga Canal. The question is what difference will this corridor make? Actually, the current situation is that the Kanwar passengers use Delhi-Meerut Express and the old highway of Meerut. It is the desire of the Uttar Pradesh government to provide an alternative route to Kanwar pilgrims through this corridor so that the burden on the route can be reduced. The government says that this will not only make the Kanwar Yatra easier but the farmers of Western Uttar Pradesh will also get another way to reach the markets and mills.
Delay in starting work?
It took almost two years for this project of 2018 and then a fund of Rs 628 crore was approved for it by the state government in 2020. Despite this, this project remained pending due to lack of approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The government’s argument was that they could not get land quickly for planting, due to which the project got delayed. Because it has been a total of 6 years since the announcement of this project, but no concrete work has been started till now. Mere files are being moved back and forth. There is a statement from a government official in the month of June 2023, where he expressed the hope that this project will be completed in 2024. But the reality is that even in 2024, there is talk of starting the work. Now it is being said that this project will be completed in 18 months.
Kanwar Yatra: A look
Every year Kanwar Yatra takes place in the month of Shravan i.e. Sawan. According to media reports, in 2019, approximately 3.5 crore Kanwariyas had visited Haridwar, while there were 2 to 3 crore devotees who had traveled with Kanwar to different pilgrimage places in the areas of Western Uttar Pradesh. During this Yatra, the first wish of Shiva devotees is to take Kanwad and offer water to the ancient temples like Baba Aughadnath Temple, Pura Mahadev Temple, Dudheshwar Nath Temple, Lodheshwar Mahadev Temple, Kashireshwar Mahadev Temple, Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Baidyanath Dham Temple. Lean on. If for some reason he is unable to go here, he chooses to offer Ganga water and have darshan at the nearby Shiva temple. It is being said that those going on Kanwar Yatra via Meerut, Ghaziabad and Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh will benefit from this corridor.
