The court directed the tree authorities in the state to meet at least once in three months and also carry out a tree census in one year. The court observed that according to the information furnished by the Goa government, there were orders to re-plant only 13,875 trees while permissions were given to fell 88,978 trees. “This means that almost 74,445 trees have been lost, primarily on account of the dereliction of duties by the Tree Authorities and Tree officers under the Trees Act,” the court stated. The court directed the tree authorities in the state to meet at least once in three months and also carry out a tree census in one year. The initial status report of the tree census has to be filed in the court in three months.

Source: Indian Express July 22, 2021 02:26 UTC