(Post by Ravindra Sinha) The Hon Supreme Court on 18th Feb 2021 had remarked that it would consider a ban on felling of mature beneficial trees for development work including laying roads and setting up industries and order inclusion of the value of the trees,including its oxygen giving capacity,required to be cut down in the project cost.
The SC constituted an expert committee to develop a set of scientific and policy guidelines which will govern decisions related to felling of trees for development projects .
The expert committee report . https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/04/25164444/Report-of-the-SC-appointed-committee.pdf Report submitted to the Hon’ble Supreme Court by the 7-Member Expert Committee pursuant to the directions dated 25th March, 2021 in Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 25047 Of 2018 - the moral compass provided by Mahatma Gandhi that whenever in doubt, the decision-maker should contemplate
the effect that his proposed action would have upon the poorest in society. The principle of Antyodaya or uplifting the weakest sections of society was expanded to include forests and biodiversity as well, as they too are voiceless and marginalized and their denizens are also citizens of India, struggling to survive in an increasingly anthropocentric world.