SC to FRI: Count every tree in Taj zone, except those in forests

AGRA: The Supreme Court (SC) has directed the Forest Research Institute (FRI) to conduct a complete tree census across the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), including all areas except those classified as protected forests. The order was delivered on April 8 as part of ongoing proceedings in the 1985 M C Mehta vs Union of India case and was made available on Sunday.
A bench of justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan approved FRI's earlier suggestion to exclude trees in reserved and protected forests and those covered under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, as amended in Uttar Pradesh. However, the bench ruled that the census must still include trees in cantonment areas, govt gardens, and land held by govt authorities. The bench also made it clear that this directive would apply to all areas within the TTZ — including portions in Rajasthan — and that the census must be conducted even in these sections.
Earlier, FRI, in an affidavit submitted to the court, had proposed the exclusion of trees in all forest lands notified under the Indian Forest Act. It had also requested that cantonment areas, govt land, and the Bharatpur and Dholpur districts of Rajasthan be left out of the exercise. The institute had argued that no tree protection legislation had been invoked in Rajasthan.

The court rejected these exclusions and confirmed that all trees — except those in protected forest areas — must be included in the count. It also asked the FRI to revise its budget proposal for the census, noting that infrastructure created for a similar survey in Delhi could be repurposed for use in the TTZ. The FRI has been given four weeks from April 8 to submit a revised budget proposal. The case is scheduled for further hearing on May 13.
Dr Sharad Gupta, an Agra-based environmentalist and one of the petitioners, told TOI, "The SC directions are welcome. There was no meaning in conducting a tree census without including trees in cantonment areas, government gardens, and in the districts of Bharatpur and Dholpur of Rajasthan. It will help in finding the exact strength of trees in the TTZ, as there is no data on trees in the TTZ available."
The Taj Trapezium Zone, covering 10,400 sq km around the Taj Mahal, was created to protect the monument from pollution. It includes Agra, Mathura, Firozabad, Hathras, and Etah in Uttar Pradesh, along with Bharatpur in Rajasthan and parts of Aligarh and Dholpur.