NGT Clears Bhopal Bypass Project, Orders 80,000-Tree Compensatory Plantation and 15-Year Monitoring

The Principal Bench disposed of a challenge to NHAI's Ayodhya Bypass six-laning project in Bhopal, accepting a High Level Committee report permitting felling of 7,871 trees subject to strict compensatory and monitoring conditions.

The National Green Tribunal's Principal Bench, in a judgment authored by Justice Sheo Kumar Singh, has disposed of an original application challenging NHAI's proposal to fell thousands of trees for the six-laning of the Ayodhya Bypass in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The Bench — comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Judicial Member Justice Sheo Kumar Singh, and Expert Members Dr. A. Senthil Vel and Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi — accepted the report of a State-constituted High Level Centrally Empowered Committee and found no illegality in the permission granted for tree felling. The Tribunal directed NHAI to plant 80,000 saplings as compensatory afforestation, maintain them for 15 years, and submit financial compliance data on CAMPA fund utilisation within three months. The project, covering 16.5 kilometres from Asharam Tiraha on NH-46 to Ratnagiri Tiraha on NH-146, had been contested since a caveat notice published in April 2025 disclosed that approximately 8,000 trees would be felled.

The Dispute Before the Tribunal

Nitin Saxena, a resident of Ashoka Garden, Bhopal, filed the original application seeking cancellation of road construction activities from Asharam Tiraha to Ayodhya Bypass. He alternatively sought consideration of an alternate route, use of available space on either side of the existing road to avoid tree felling, or plantation of a large number of native species with compensatory afforestation as per rules.

The applicant's case rested on three planks. First, that the felling of trees would directly raise local temperatures — citing a newspaper report from May 2024 showing a temperature differential of 8 degrees Celsius between the tree-dense Char Imli area (36°C) and the less-green Kolar area (44°C) in Bhopal. Second, that the provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Vrikshon Ka Parirakshan (Nagariya Kshetra) Adhiniyam, 2001, particularly Sections 3 to 8, had not been complied with before permission was granted. Third, that the High Level Centrally Empowered Committee had not afforded the applicant an opportunity of hearing, violating natural justice.

The applicant also relied on the Supreme Court's observations in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (In Re: Taj Trapezium Zone), where the Court had directed that public authorities must not apply for felling of more trees than necessary and must be meticulous in scrutinising such applications.

NHAI's Position: Traffic Necessity and Environmental Commitments

NHAI, represented by the Additional Solicitor General, placed before the Tribunal the scale of the traffic problem. The existing two-lane highway carries approximately 42,748 PCU vehicles per day against a maximum capacity of 40,000 PCU per day. By 2030, traffic is projected to reach 67,288 PCU per day. Three accident black spots — People's Mall Junction, Best Price Tiraha, and Ratnagiri Tiraha — had been identified on the existing alignment.

NHAI submitted that the project length is less than 100 kilometres and is therefore exempt from the requirement of environmental clearance under the MoEF&CC notification dated 14 July 2022. A Detailed Project Report was prepared in July 2024. An EIA report, prepared by a NABET-accredited agency, concluded that CO₂ sequestration and oxygen production from the proposed plantation would equal present levels by 2029.

On tree numbers, NHAI told the Tribunal that the original proposal involved felling 9,946 trees. After the first meeting of the Centrally Empowered Committee on 15 September 2025, NHAI was directed to rework its proposal to save the maximum number of trees without compromising road safety. NHAI then submitted a revised proposal for felling 7,936 trees. After further design changes — reducing median width from 5 metres to 1.5 metres and removing the concrete utility duct from both sides — the number was brought down to 7,871.

NHAI committed to planting 10,000 trees on both sides of the project road and 70,000 trees in nearby areas at Jhirniya and Jhagariyakhurd, for which an NOC for 85 hectares of land had been obtained from the Revenue Department. The concessionaire's agreement itself incorporates plantation obligations, and NHAI undertook maintenance for 15 years.

The High Level Centrally Empowered Committee's Findings

The State of Madhya Pradesh constituted the High Level Centrally Empowered Committee by notification dated 1 September 2025, in compliance with a direction issued in a connected matter, O.A. No. 68/2025. The Committee comprised senior officials including the Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development and Housing), Commissioner (Urban Administration and Development), Commissioner (Horticulture), Secretary (Forest Department), Member Secretary (MP Pollution Control Board), Regional Director (Central Pollution Control Board), and others.

The Committee held its second meeting on 19 November 2025 at Mantralaya Vallabh Bhawan, Bhopal, and submitted its final report on 12 December 2025. It recommended permission for felling 7,871 trees, subject to eleven conditions. Key among them: NHAI must plant more than ten times the number of trees felled, totalling 80,000 saplings; all pit preparation must be completed before the monsoon; saplings must be a minimum of 6 feet in height; payment to the contractor must be linked to tree survival; satellite imagery or drone videography must be used for monitoring; and if birds or nests are at risk during felling, NHAI must engage a reputed NGO for their protection.

The Committee also directed that only local species be planted, with priority to Mahua, Neem, and other native species, and that Palm species be excluded entirely. Air quality monitoring by the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board through the Air Quality Monitoring System near the Ayodhya Bypass was mandated, with NHAI required to act on any corrective suggestions immediately.

The Tribunal's Reasoning

On the natural justice objection, the Bench held that the Committee was constituted to serve the purpose of protecting trees and curtailing their felling, not as an adjudicatory body determining the applicant's rights. Relying on Chairman, Board of Mining Examination v. Ramjee, AIR 1977 SC 965, and Union of India v. Tulsiram Patel, AIR 1985 SC 1416, the Bench observed that natural justice is not a rigid mould and that its principles must not be stretched too far. The Bench found that the applicant had not suffered any substantial loss or violation of right, title, or interest from the Committee's process, and that the decision was based on a scientific report which the Tribunal would not sit in appeal over.

On the photographs of road congestion objected to by the applicant on the ground that they were dated 21 November 2025, the Bench accepted NHAI's explanation that the photographs were taken in compliance with the first Committee meeting's directions to demonstrate road congestion, and that there was no technical error.

On the question of land availability for compensatory plantation, the Bench noted that the Nayab Tahsildar, Huzur, Bhopal, had identified land and the District Collector, Bhopal, had passed an order dated 6 November 2025 providing land for plantation.

The Bench concluded that the project had been considered at the DPR stage, the EIA stage, and again by the Centrally Empowered Committee. The matter of alignment, alternate route, road design, and traffic had been examined at each level. No violation of law or constitutional mandate had been shown. The Bench accepted the Supreme Court's observation in In Re: Felling of Trees in Aarey Forest (Maharashtra) (Suo Moto WP(C) No. 2/2019, order dated 29 July 2025) that while environmental protection is paramount, development of infrastructure cannot be ignored, and compensatory measures must be undertaken with trees planted in multiples of those felled.

Order

The Tribunal issued the following directions:

Respondents are directed to comply with the Madhya Pradesh Vrakshon Ka Parirakshan Nagriya Kshetra Adhiniyam, 2001. Where the number of trees to be felled for any development project exceeds the prescribed limit under the State Government's notification, the matter must be referred to the High Level Centrally Empowered Committee.

Rules on compensatory plantation, compulsory afforestation, maintenance, and the Green Highway Policy (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) 2015 must be complied with, ensuring survival of trees. Compensatory plantation work will be monitored for 15 years by a technical committee comprising members of the Forest Department, Municipal Corporation, Horticulture Department, and State Pollution Control Board.

The Tribunal accepted the Centrally Empowered Committee's report and directed that its recommendations be strictly observed within a timeframe. NHAI is directed to complete the project within a timeframe after due compliance with environmental rules and local laws.

NHAI is directed to submit a report on the total amount deposited with the Forest Department, Municipal Corporation, or Tree Officers in Madhya Pradesh during the last five years, with year-wise details and utilisation data, to the Registrar, NGT Central Zone Bench, Bhopal, within three months.

The Member Secretary, Madhya Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, is directed to collect information on the utilisation of funds deposited against plantation or re-afforestation under the CAMPA fund or with the Municipal Corporation or Social Forestry Department, with year-wise survival data for the last five years, and submit the same to the Registrar within three months.

The Registrar will place the matter before the Bench for appropriate directions after receipt of the reports. O.A. No. 53/2026-PB along with all pending interlocutory applications stands disposed of.