GREATER NOIDA: Of the over 11,000 trees that are to be felled for the development of the Jewar international airport in Greater Noida, some 200 will be transplanted by the nodal agency developing the greenfield airport. And so far, 68 trees have been transplanted, officials have said.
“Currently, species like Sheesham, Mango and Neem trees are being transplanted,” Christoph Schnellmann, the CEO of Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), told TOI. “The transplantation is being carried out through the scientific process of pruning, rootball preparation, tree shifting and planting under the supervision of experts. Organic manure is also being used during this process.”
Shailendra Bhatia, OSD, Yamuna Expressway Authority, said, “We initially identified 195 trees that would be transplanted out of 11,000 trees. We are trying our best to protect most of these trees to set an example.”
When contacted, Pramod Kumar Srivastava, divisional forest officer, Gautam Budh Nagar, said, “We have already given them permission to transplant and cut down trees. They will have to submit a report after the transplantation of some of the trees.”
The Jewar airport is being built over a total area of 5,000 hectares in phases, which will mostly come from six villages. The maximum number of trees would be cut in Ranhera village.
