LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday observed that it is not against any development project but concerned about the protection of trees.

“Whatever project is planned, trees should not be cut down,” Justice Shahid Karim remarked during hearing of petitions on environmental issues.

Earlier, Advocate General of Punjab (AGP) Amjad Pervez submitted a report on behalf of the Punjab Transport and Mass Transit Authority, informing the court that the PC-1 for the Yellow Line project on Canal Road had not yet been prepared.

In reply to a court’s query, the provincial secretary for transport stated that a study for the masstransit project on Canal Road was currently underway.

The advocate general said the project was still under study and Nespak (National Engineering Services Pakistan) had geo-tagged the trees and developed a mobile application for this purpose.

Court says it’s not against any development project but concerned about trees

The judge observed that the government was free to plan development projects, but trees must not be felled.

Justice Karim remarked that only trees could mitigate the crisis of melting glaciers.

“The protection of trees is the top priority of this court,” he made it clear.

The judge declared that felling trees would be a sin. He said the government was undertaking good initiatives but the court’s sole concern was the preservation of trees.

The judge adjourned further hearing till Aug 8.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2025