The Supreme Court on Thursday made it clear that no trees can be felled within an aerial distance of 5 kilometres from the Taj Mahal without its express permission, even if the number of trees involved is fewer than 50..A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan reiterated its 2015 direction requiring all tree-felling requests within the core Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) to be first vetted by the Court. The TTZ is a 10,400 sq km protected area designed to shield the Taj and other heritage monuments in Agra from environmental harm.“Order dated 15th May 2015 will continue to operate in case of areas situated within aerial distance of 5 kms from Taj Mahal. No tree felling will be permitted without permission of this Court,” the Court held..Supreme Court directs probe into tree felling in Taj Trapezium Zone.The Court clarified that for felling of trees in other parts of the TTZ (beyond the 5 km radius), permission from either the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) or the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) is required. However, it said the DFO must strictly enforce the Uttar Pradesh Protection of Trees Act, especially the requirement of compensatory afforestation under Section 7.The DFO must also ensure that no tree is felled or translocated until all preconditions, including afforestation are met. Only after verifying compliance can permission be granted.An exception was carved out for situations of grave urgency, such as threats to human life. In such cases, trees may be felled immediately, but only if a genuine emergency exists.“This exception will apply only when there is grave urgency… that if action of felling of trees is not immediately undertaken, there may be possibility of loss of human life,” the Court stated..The bench also asked the CEC to file a report on whether similar restrictions should be extended to protect other heritage monuments in Agra including the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.The Court simultaneously dismissed an application filed by a trust seeking relaxation of the permission requirement for felling trees on private or non-forest land. The trust had argued that a more lenient regime would encourage agro-forestry and help develop Agra as a culturally sensitive city.Advocate Kishan Chand Jain proposed a registry system to allow such tree-felling with oversight. However, the Court was unconvinced.“In substance what the applicant wants is a blanket order permitting felling of trees on non-forest land as a part of so-called agro-farming. If we grant this relief, the orders which this court has been passing from 1984 will be completely frustrated,” it held.The Court said such a regime would offer a free licence to fell trees and adversely affect the environment in the TTZ area..The latest ruling ties back to the Court’s March 2025 decision recalling a 2019 exemption granted for agro-forestry activities. Then too, the Bench had criticised the lack of clarity on what agro-forestry entailed and warned that the exemption was being misused.“Perhaps the Court was misled… no one knows what agro-forestry means,” Justice Oka had remarked during that hearing..The matter will now proceed after the CEC submits its report on additional protections and compliance with the Court’s directions..[Read Order].[Read Live Coverage]
The Supreme Court on Thursday made it clear that no trees can be felled within an aerial distance of 5 kilometres from the Taj Mahal without its express permission, even if the number of trees involved is fewer than 50..A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan reiterated its 2015 direction requiring all tree-felling requests within the core Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) to be first vetted by the Court. The TTZ is a 10,400 sq km protected area designed to shield the Taj and other heritage monuments in Agra from environmental harm.“Order dated 15th May 2015 will continue to operate in case of areas situated within aerial distance of 5 kms from Taj Mahal. No tree felling will be permitted without permission of this Court,” the Court held..Supreme Court directs probe into tree felling in Taj Trapezium Zone.The Court clarified that for felling of trees in other parts of the TTZ (beyond the 5 km radius), permission from either the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) or the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) is required. However, it said the DFO must strictly enforce the Uttar Pradesh Protection of Trees Act, especially the requirement of compensatory afforestation under Section 7.The DFO must also ensure that no tree is felled or translocated until all preconditions, including afforestation are met. Only after verifying compliance can permission be granted.An exception was carved out for situations of grave urgency, such as threats to human life. In such cases, trees may be felled immediately, but only if a genuine emergency exists.“This exception will apply only when there is grave urgency… that if action of felling of trees is not immediately undertaken, there may be possibility of loss of human life,” the Court stated..The bench also asked the CEC to file a report on whether similar restrictions should be extended to protect other heritage monuments in Agra including the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.The Court simultaneously dismissed an application filed by a trust seeking relaxation of the permission requirement for felling trees on private or non-forest land. The trust had argued that a more lenient regime would encourage agro-forestry and help develop Agra as a culturally sensitive city.Advocate Kishan Chand Jain proposed a registry system to allow such tree-felling with oversight. However, the Court was unconvinced.“In substance what the applicant wants is a blanket order permitting felling of trees on non-forest land as a part of so-called agro-farming. If we grant this relief, the orders which this court has been passing from 1984 will be completely frustrated,” it held.The Court said such a regime would offer a free licence to fell trees and adversely affect the environment in the TTZ area..The latest ruling ties back to the Court’s March 2025 decision recalling a 2019 exemption granted for agro-forestry activities. Then too, the Bench had criticised the lack of clarity on what agro-forestry entailed and warned that the exemption was being misused.“Perhaps the Court was misled… no one knows what agro-forestry means,” Justice Oka had remarked during that hearing..The matter will now proceed after the CEC submits its report on additional protections and compliance with the Court’s directions..[Read Order].[Read Live Coverage]
