Activists halt NMC’s tree felling in Dindori, Gangapur roads after NGT stay

Nashik: Tree activists on Tuesday halted the Nashik Municipal Corporation's (NMC) tree felling drive at two locations along Dindori Road within city limits and at another site on Gangapur Road.The tree cutting was being carried out as part of road development works ahead of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela scheduled in 2027.Trees have been felled along the Gangapur Road and Dindori Road stretches over the past few days for infrastructure development linked to the mega religious event. On Tuesday morning, activists reached the Dindori Road site where cutting was underway and urged civic officials to stop the work, citing an interim stay granted by the Pune bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on tree felling in Nashik till April 28.The activists also demanded copies of official permissions and govt orders allowing tree cutting from civic officials and the contractor at the site, but none were produced. "We informed them about the NGT's interim stay on any tree cutting in Nashik till April 28, but the work continued initially," said an environmentalist.The activists then contacted senior NMC officials at the civic headquarters, Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, and informed them about the tribunal's order, warning that continued tree felling could amount to contempt of court. They also said the detailed order would be uploaded on the NGT website shortly.Following these developments, the tree felling drive along the city stretch of Dindori Road was stopped around 2 pm on Tuesday. Activists similarly intervened at Gangapur Road and halted the cutting after informing officials and the contractor about the NGT's stay order.Petitioner in the NGT case, Manish Baviskar, said activists immediately approached NMC headquarters after the interim stay was granted and urged civic officials to stop all tree felling activities in the city. Earlier on Tuesday, the NGT's Pune bench, while hearing Baviskar's petition, granted an interim stay on tree felling in Nashik till April 28.