When hockey players congregate for the Commonwealth Games and the Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2010 at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium, the 187 trees ‘headbacked’ to give the stadium a facelift will just be part of statistics.

Further, to accommodate the Commonwealth traffic rush, fresh permission has been granted for removing 103 trees near the airport to make way for an underpass. Another two will be removed near Shivaji Bridge for yet another Commonwealth Games underpass.

As many as 187 trees in Dhyanchand stadium will be ‘headbacked’ for the Games. Headbacking refers to a process in which the heads or tops of the trees are cut off, with the tree cut halfway. Many trees do not survive the process. “The stadium is a Commonwealth Games venue and the request could not be refused,” says a forest department official.

It’s a tree-cutting dilemma that has been raging for a while now: aside from big infrastructure projects, residents and environmentalists are now questioning the logic of cutting trees for projects that are specifically aimed for the Games period — for road-widening or for managing traffic flow better.

Over a hundred trees will be cleared from near the airport for a delayed underpass project, one which has recently been fast-tracked by the Centre through the Central Road Reserve funds to enable completion by the time of the Games. The other two trees will be cut near Shivaji Park for another underpass for faster movement of traffic.

Recently, the Centrally Empowered Committee and the Forest department turned down the PWD request for cutting down a staggering 326 trees along Siri Fort road, to widen it by 3 metres on each side and cutting down 78 trees along August Kranti Marg for road widening.

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