6 months ago
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In a unusual lawsuit of coincidence, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has passed orders connected Monday (November 3, 2025), giving a go-ahead for widening of the National Highway 163 betwixt Moinabad successful Ranga Reddy territory and Manneguda successful Vikarabad district, the agelong wherever the horrific mishap occurred connected the aforesaid time aft a lorry rammed into a Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) bus.
The roadworthy widening from 2 lanes to six lanes has been stalled for 8 years present owed to a lawsuit filed successful the NGT by metropolis based environmentalists for redeeming implicit 900 banyan trees scheduled to beryllium axed by the National Highways Authority of India for facilitating the roadworthy widening.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had been adamant connected its stance for each these years, till the NGT kept successful abeyance, the proposal by the Environmental Appraisal Committee nether Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and ordered a broad survey to prevention the banyan trees successful March, 2025.
A compromise has been worked retired precocious betwixt the petitioners and NHAI with involution from the Pargi MLA T. Ram Mohan Reddy, whereby NHAI agreed to modify the road plan to accommodate in-situ extortion of 765 banyan trees, and translocation of 130-odd banyans to the enarthrosis of the road aft widening.
However, a ample fig of the trees had to look the wrath of the section radical meantime who had acceptable them afire connected the sly to get escaped of them. Similarly, fatal accidents took spot connected the tortuous roadworthy claiming a fig of lives, starring to bitter protests by section people.
While the NGT bid was yet to beryllium delivered, Mr.Ram Mohan Reddy organised a property league connected Saturday to state that the apex greenish tribunal had passed a favourable bid connected Saturday. The last bid was passed lone connected Monday morning, arsenic the metropolis was grappling with the quality astir the ghastly accident.
Road plan modification to prevention trees
As portion of the compromise, NHAI reportedly modified the roadworthy plan by reducing the median width successful bid to prevention the trees, too tweaking the gradient astatine a fewer locations. The roadworthy presently does not person a median, which is 1 crushed wherefore the motortruck laden with gravel deed the autobus portion overtaking different vehicle.
“In our reply to the affidavit filed by NHAI, we requested for retention of 400-plus different taxon of trees connected the agelong wherever the banyan trees would beryllium retained. Also, we asked for inclusion of civilian nine representatives connected the monitoring committee to beryllium constituted to oversee the roadworthy widening project,” Tejah Balantrapu, a co-petitioner informed.
