Mangaluru : The Chennai Bench of the National Green Tribunal on Tuesday barred felling of trees at the proposed district office complex in Padil here till it considers an inspection report by the Chief Conservator of Forests of the Union Government based in Bengaluru.

Posting the application filed by Mangaluru-based advocate Suma R. Nayak for further hearing on July 4, the Bench, comprising judicial member P. Jyothimani and expert member P.S. Rao, directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Union Government, to be made a respondent to the application.

On January 27 this year, the very same tribunal had ordered that trees on 5.89 acres of land proposed for the district office complex could be felled after taking requisite permission from the competent authority. The competent authority (of the State government) had decided that the land was not a deemed forest and permitted felling of the trees. Passing the interim order on Tuesday on Ms. Nayak’s application, the tribunal said that it is satisfied that there exists a substantial question connected to and concerned with environment and ecology to be decided [by the tribunal] and admitted the petition. It said, “we are of the considered view that the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India, should be made a party respondent in this case. Accordingly, we suo motu implead the Secretary.”

The tribunal directed the Ministry to depute from its Bengaluru regional office the Chief Conservator of Forests along with a team to inspect the entire area in question and file a report about the nature of the trees, type, species, girth, total extent of the land and whether the trees are artificial or naturally grown. The Deputy Commissioner should make all arrangements for the inspection and the inspection report should be filed on the next date of hearing.

Till the tribunal finally decides the issue after the inspection report, status quo on the land should be maintained, it said.

Ms. Nayak had approached the tribunal after the High Court of Karnataka rejected a public interest writ petition filed by Daniel Tauro, Ms. Nayak and Shawn F. Fernandez on December 12, 2015. The court had said that construction is proposed on the government land for public purpose. It had also held that the government did not exceed jurisdiction illegally in granting the permission.

Ms. Nayak argued before the tribunal that the land comprises 478 different variety of trees and rare species of animals and the project will destroy the eco system.