Taking on the Narendra Modi government for allowing the chopping of over one crore trees in the name of developmental work in the last five years, the Congress on Saturday, posed the question, “is BJP destroying our future?”.
“Trees are ‘life’. Trees are ‘oxygen’. Trees absorb ‘carbon dioxide’. Trees protect ‘environment’. Modi Government has cut a whopping 1,09,75,844 trees in the past 5 years! (Parliamentary Reply)”. Is BJP destroying our future?”, tweeted AICC communication in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Mr Surjewala also posted the Environment Ministry’s reply in the Lok Sabha on Friday that it allowed chopping of 1.9 crore trees in the last five years for development work.
Responding to a question raised by Ravindra Shyamnarayan and Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Lok Sabha, Minister of State (MoS) for Environment Babul Supriyo informed that the Ministry permitted to cut 1.09 crore trees for development purposes between 2014 and 2019.
According to the ministry data, 23.3 lakh trees were cut in 2014-15, 16.9 lakh in 2015-16, 17.01 lakh in 2016-17, 25.5 lakh in 2017-18 and 26.91 lakh in 2018-19. Supriyo also said the data on trees destroyed in forest fires is not maintained by Forest Ministry.
“Trees are felled for various development purposes with the permission of competent authorities in accordance with the procedure laid down in various Acts. However, the Ministry does not maintain data regarding the cutting of trees due to forest fire,” he said.
(UNI)
