Mangaluru: The Forest Department has decided to take action against people who prune or cut off trees near their premises.
It is said that in 2012-13, the department had planted about 3,200 saplings on the Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway between Padil and B C Road, but now most of them are dead.
Sources say that various business establishments and institutions had cut off branches to make hoardings visible.
Taking the case seriously, the department has started penalizing violators to the tune of Rs 4,000.
Officials opine that people were mercilessly cutting trees and penalizing them was the only way to stop the problem. They said permission for cutting off a tree would be given only if it was blocking a road to a hospital.