Merciless Chopping of trees in Sector 15A
Recently, residents of Sector 15A have been grappling with the disappointing reality of the removal of greenery by the present RWA, first in Rajnigandha market and on Sept. 12th at Gate no.2 for reasons best known to them and without any intimation given to residents. Innumerable messages to the RWA team for these reasons have fallen on deaf ears!
A very beautiful and old mango tree surrounded by green palms and foliage was one day suddenly removed in Rajnigandha market on the land of Noida Authority, and a concrete structure with a pedestal in the centre has come up! The lame excuse given by RWA was that a homeopathic clinic will be opened there but the structure in no way looks like a clinic. Many residents suspected and protested that it is going to be a mandir, but a clarification by the Late RWA president D.D. Mishra was issued that no religious activity would be carried out there! But the picture above does not tally with this statement. Repeated requests of residents to the RWA team to show permission for using Noida Authority land for construction and permission from the Horticulture Department and DFO has met with total silence.
On Sept. 12th , while exiting the sector , some residents noticed that the entire road is littered with the cuttings of mercilessly chopped beautiful palm trees which were planted 10 years ago by Sanjeev Sareen, Anupam Chawla, Mr. Tripathi etc. in their term, on both the gates of the Sector main roads. They grew so beautifully over the years that Minakshi Goil and Sanjeev, in their last term, decided to light them up and a lot of time and effort was spent on it. Outside visitors were in awe of their aesthetics and beauty. There were non-stop angry outbursts of the residents on the Sector WhatsApp groups as to how the present RWA team could carry out this action without informing the residents! Did they seek permission from Noida horticulture department and what was the reason behind it?! “ I saw the laash of the trees as I came back home,” messaged Kirti Seth about this ghastly sight. There are so many nature lovers in this Sector and this has come as a huge shock to them. Again, there has been total silence from the RWA on this issue and by late evening the entire road was cleared of the wood cuttings.
The recent events highlight the need for greater community engagement in the decision making process.
As discussions continue and protests gain traction, it is clear that the battle for our trees and green spaces is far from over and the future depends on finding sustainable pathways which allow nature and development to co-exist peacefully.
When trees are cut without an explanation, of the emergency like at the market or now, it’s unbelievably sad, totally insensitive, posted Rohini Suri!
