Agra: The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has recommended that the Supreme Court allow the felling of 272 trees and pruning of 610 others in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) for two high-tension transmission lines connecting Rajasthan with Ghiror and Firozabad. As compensation, it has proposed planting 8,880 trees at identified sites in Agra and Firozabad.
The Power Grid Corporation of India had sought permission to fell and prune trees for the 765 kV D/c Dausa-Ghiror and 400 kV D/c Ghiror-Firozabad transmission lines. The 124-km Dausa-Ghiror line is part of a plan to evacuate 3.5 GW of electricity generated by solar projects in Rajasthan. The corporation had initially sought permission to fell around 297 trees and prune 1,735 others in the TTZ. Following a CEC inspection, however, the alignment was revised, bringing the number of trees to be felled down to 85 and those to be pruned to 400. Of the trees to be felled, 69 are in Agra and 16 in Firozabad, while 387 of those to be pruned are in Agra and 13 in Firozabad. The second project is a 48-km transmission line between Ghiror and Firozabad, intended to facilitate the evacuation of 3.5 GW of renewable energy from Rajasthan Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) Phase-IV. Mohanty said, “Considering the national importance of the proposed 400 kV D/c transmission line, the CEC, after site visits and careful examination of all relevant records, recommends that SC may consider granting permission for felling of 187 trees and lopping/light pruning of 210 trees in Firozabad district within the TTZ, subject to stipulated conditions. For the two projects, the CEC has proposed compensatory plantation of 8,880 trees. This includes plantation over 45.61 hectares for the Ghiror-Firozabad line, with 20 hectares in Agra and 25.61 hectares in Firozabad. The corporation has also undertaken to plant 4,030 trees at its Ghiror and Firozabad substations. The proposal was submitted by deputy chief electrical engineer Prateek Sinha as part of the Railways’ Mission Raftaar initiative, which aims to enable trains to run at speeds of up to 200 kmph.
You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Agra | Silver Rate in Agra | Bank Holidays in Agra | Public Holidays in Agra | Agra AQI | Weather in Agra | Petrol Price in Agra | Diesel Price in Agra | CNG Price in Agra | LPG Price in Agra Stay updated with the latest Agra news. Identified sites in Agra include Taroli Gurjar and Naugawan, while plantation in Firozabad will be carried out across designated forest blocks. In a separate report, the CEC recommended that the SC allow the felling of a peepal tree at Azhai in Mathura for the construction of a substation by North Central Railway. The committee has also asked the chairman of the TTZ Authority to ensure that no project involving tree felling begins without the required permission, and called for strict compliance with this requirement. Download the TOI App.
In separate reports submitted to the Supreme Court and released on Tuesday, CEC member Anjan Kumar Mohanty recommended granting permission for the two projects, subject to environmental safeguards.