📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Subhashish Panigrahi
National
SC directs Punjab to submit afforestation plan balancing environment and infrastructure
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 09 Oct 2026, 11:05 AM
👁 13
The Supreme Court has ordered the Punjab government to prepare a detailed afforestation plan that aligns environmental safeguards with the state's strategic infrastructure projects. The directive aims to ensure sustainable development while preserving ecological balance.
The Supreme Court has asked the Punjab government to present a comprehensive afforestation plan aimed at reconciling environmental protection with the state's strategic infrastructure needs. The bench highlighted that while infrastructure development is essential for growth, it must not come at the expense of ecological balance, and urged the state to integrate tree planting initiatives into its project planning.
The court directed Punjab to submit the plan within a specified period, detailing the species, locations, and monitoring mechanisms to ensure survival of planted saplings. It emphasized that the afforestation effort should be scientifically sound and include community participation wherever possible.
Officials from the Punjab forest department said they are working on a draft that will map out suitable tracts along highways, industrial corridors and urban green belts for plantation. They noted that the plan will also include provisions for after‑care and periodic audits.
Observers note that the order reflects the judiciary's increasing role in mediating development versus environment debates across India, setting a precedent for other states to follow similar guidelines.
The court directed Punjab to submit the plan within a specified period, detailing the species, locations, and monitoring mechanisms to ensure survival of planted saplings. It emphasized that the afforestation effort should be scientifically sound and include community participation wherever possible.
Officials from the Punjab forest department said they are working on a draft that will map out suitable tracts along highways, industrial corridors and urban green belts for plantation. They noted that the plan will also include provisions for after‑care and periodic audits.
Observers note that the order reflects the judiciary's increasing role in mediating development versus environment debates across India, setting a precedent for other states to follow similar guidelines.