Relentless campaigning and pressure from all sections of society and environmental protection groups have succeeded in forcing the Madhya Pradesh BJP government to scrap a proposal for constructing a lavish housing project for ministers, MLAs and bureaucrats at the cost of mowing down nearly 27,000-29,000 trees in Bhopal’s Shivaji Nagar area, which is known as the ‘lungs of the city’ due to its years-old dense flora.

The proposal was floated by the Madhya Pradesh Housing Board a few days ago and it immediately faced vehement protests from not only residents of the area but also from people of all walks of life, including children, students, women, and even MLAs of the ruling BJP.

The proposal was considered totally contrary to the principles of sustainable development, as its implementation would have meant demolition of more than 2,000 inhabited government houses and the cutting down of thousands of trees, most of which are many years old.

Moreover, the cutting down of trees would have led to the loss of habitats for many species of birds, small animals, and insects, besides the loss of a large variety of shrubs, small plants and flowers.

Citizens held protests daily against the proposal. The protests involved ‘chipko andolans’ (people hugging trees), delegations meeting the officials concerned, protest marches and kids and women tying ‘raksha sutras’ (sacred threads) to the trees, as a sign of taking a vow to be their saviours.

Crumbling under the pressure, the Madhya Pradesh Government decided to scrap the proposal completely.

State Urban Administration and Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya wrote in Hindi on his X account on Monday evening that the New Bhopal re-densification proposal has been rejected.

“Keeping in view environmental protection and trees present in the area of the New Bhopal Re-densification Plan, the presented proposal was rejected after thorough consideration and instructions were given to examine other alternative locations,” the minister wrote. “Discussions should be held with citizens and public representatives at the initial level for the new proposal,” he added.

The MP Housing Board also issued a formal order late Monday evening stating that the proposal has been cancelled.

The project proposed demolition of 2,267 government houses in the Tulsi Nagar and Shivaji Nagar localities in the heart of Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh.

It aimed at constructing 3,480 residences for ministers, MLAs and bureaucrats, including big bungalows, high-rise buildings with flats, clubhouses, swimming pools, and other amenities.

The project’s implementation would have led to the cutting down of nearly 29,000 trees in the area.

The project was to be spread in an area of 297 acres and its initial cost was projected to be nearly Rs 2,400 crore.

The government had planned to hand over the project to one or more private builders for construction and final implementation.