Affidavit filed by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board in the matter of Bharat Prakash Rai Vs State of West Bengal dated December 16, 2022.

The matter related to felling of trees in a tea estate, Darjeeling.

In order to control soil erosion and stabilize landslides, land slip as well as to facilitate restoration of ecology and habitat in the hill slopes gradient area, no tree shall be cut further in plot no 769. Permission for felling only shade trees in plot no 1773, 1774, 1775 near Manju park may be granted through District Magistrate, Darjeeling. The tree garden management shall plant saplings of indigenous tree species are prescribed by the Forest Department and the plantation of indigenous tree species need to be taken up at the onset of monsoon and completed within a period of one month, preferably in the month of June 2023.