Chandigarh, March 26 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday sought response from the central government and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the plan to axe approximately 5,000 trees for the Tricity Ring Road project between the junction at NH-7 (Zirakpur-Patiala) and NH-5 junction (Zirakpur-Parwanoo) in Panchkula. The high court bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry also made it clear that on the adjourned date of April 1 the court will look into the petitioners' demand that implementation be stayed pending the PIL proceedings. "The project will result in the felling of over 2,000 trees from notified forest land in Punjab, more than 2,200 trees from the Panchkula Golf Course and approximately 1,000 trees from Sector 1-A, Panchkula, and other green belts. These trees are predominantly 20-30 years old and constitute established ecological assets performing vital ecosystem services," says the PIL filed by 21 odd residents of the tricity, demanding that NHAI be directed to re-align the project to preserve the thousands of trees at stake. The six-lane stretch, spanning nearly 19.2 km, will start at the Patiala-Zirakpur light point on NH-7 and terminate at the old Panchkula light point on NH-5, helping the Shimla-bound traffic completely avoid the Zirakpur bottleneck. Similarly, traffic from Shimla heading towards Ambala or Delhi will also be able to bypass Zirakpur. Being planned since 2013, the new bypass will also serve as an alternative route from Panchkula to the Mohali international airport terminal, helping traffic avoid Chandigarh city altogether. This, in turn, will reduce burden on Chandigarh's major roads like Madhya Marg and Dakshin Marg. The new road will pass through several villages in Zirakpur, including Nagla, Sanauli, Kishanpura and Gazipur, then along the Ghaggar river near Peer Machulla, forest area and Panchkula Golf Course. From there, it will traverse Panchkula sectors before connecting to the Kalka highway near Chandimandir Toll Plaza. The ring road project is estimated to cost Rs.1,878 crore, with construction expected to start by September and completion expected within two years. During the hearing, appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Anand Chhibbar also questioned the compensatory afforestation policy while submitting that the trees were being cut here and compensatory plantation was being done 300 km away in Ferozepur near Pakistan border, which would be inconsequential. He also submitted that alternative routes were available for the NHAI but not explored. He further sought a stay on tendering process and execution of the project, adding that no subsequent judicial relief or monetary compensation could restore decades-old forest ecosystems, if allowed to be cut....