📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Rohitjahnavi
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Indore High Court Halts Cutting of 250,000 Trees for Railway Line Through Chorla Forests
✍️ Amar Ujala · Madhya Pradesh
🗓 16 Oct 2026, 07:15 AM
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The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued an interim order stopping the removal of over 250,000 trees in the Chorla forest area of Indore for a new railway track, directing the forest department and Indian Railways to appear.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court’s bench of senior judges placed an interim stay on the felling of more than 250,000 trees slated for removal in the Chorla forest region of Indore. The trees were to be cleared to lay a new railway line connecting Simrol and Barwah stations.
The court issued notices to both the state forest department and Indian Railways, asking them to appear before the bench and justify the environmental impact of the project. Officials were instructed to preserve the existing flora until a detailed hearing can be conducted.
Environmental groups have welcomed the order, calling it a crucial step toward protecting the local wildlife and preventing irreversible ecological damage in the forested area.
The decision underscores the judiciary’s role in balancing infrastructure development with conservation concerns, especially in ecologically sensitive zones across the state.
Further hearings are scheduled to determine whether the railway project can proceed with alternative alignments or mitigation measures that safeguard the forest ecosystem.
The court issued notices to both the state forest department and Indian Railways, asking them to appear before the bench and justify the environmental impact of the project. Officials were instructed to preserve the existing flora until a detailed hearing can be conducted.
Environmental groups have welcomed the order, calling it a crucial step toward protecting the local wildlife and preventing irreversible ecological damage in the forested area.
The decision underscores the judiciary’s role in balancing infrastructure development with conservation concerns, especially in ecologically sensitive zones across the state.
Further hearings are scheduled to determine whether the railway project can proceed with alternative alignments or mitigation measures that safeguard the forest ecosystem.