Chandigarh, March 25 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court will on Wednesday take up a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the plan to axe approximately 5,000 trees for the tricity ring road project of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) between the junction at NH-7 (Zirakpur-Patiala) and NH-5 junction (Zirakpur-Parwanoo) in Panchkula. "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-1A 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 the NHAI be directed to re-align the project to preserve the thousands of trees that are at stake. The six-lane stretch will be constructed on the PR-7 road and pass through several villages in Zirakpur, including Nagla and Gazipur, then along the Ghaggar river near Peer Muchalla, forest area and Panchkula Golf Course. The work on the project is expected to start in September. htc...