Four months after removing a structure to expand the Mall Road-Bharat Nagar Chowk intersection, the municipal corporation (MC) is yet to initiate the process to remove three trees and an electricity pole required for the proposed slip road project.
The road is part of the state government’s proposed world-class road project, but no timeline has been announced for the work. “This is a clear safety hazard and can lead to major accidents.
The MC should at least barricade the newly added area with sandbags covered with reflective material to caution commuters,” said Rahul Verma, a member of the Punjab State Road Safety Council.
The work on the road won’t start anytime soon, so there is time,” he said. “They inform us. We assess the situation. “We will take the permission.
District forest officer Guramanpreet Singh Bains said the MC would have to inform the forest department before cutting any tree on government land. Then we ask them to submit an amount in their own account, which will be used to plant more trees to compensate for the tree that is cut,” he said. MC superintending engineer (buildings and roads branch) Sham Lal Gupta said the corporation would seek the necessary permission. Gupta also said he was not immediately aware whether permission to remove the electricity pole had already been sought.
