Chandigarh, August 5: The Punjab Council of Ministers, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday, approved the Punjab Protection of Trees Bill to establish a regulatory framework for felling, removing, and transplanting trees in urban and non-forest areas. Under the proposed legislation, scheduled to be introduced during the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, any individual cutting down a tree will be legally required to plant ten trees in its place. State Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema stated that the measure introduces progressive monetary penalties for illegal tree felling, starting at 10,000 rupees for a first offence, escalating to 35,000 rupees for a second violation, and reaching 50,000 rupees for subsequent infractions.
The legislation responds to directions from the National Green Tribunal urging dedicated urban tree protection laws, addressing Punjab’s status as one of the least forested states with a combined forest and tree cover of 12.58 per cent, well below the national target of 33 per cent. Officials affirmed that commercial agroforestry and farm-grown species will remain outside the law’s scope to protect agricultural interests. In addition to environmental measures, the Cabinet cleared the Punjab State Outsourced Personnel Bill to transition 65,000 employees to contractual engagement, alongside approvals for three self-financed private digital universities in Hoshiarpur and Patiala and the Punjab Regulation of Fees of Private Unaided Educational Institutions Bill.
