The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a significant ruling restraining the Haryana government from felling trees without prior court approval. This decision arose during a hearing of a public interest litigation concerning the Zirakpur bypass project, which is set to remove over 5,000 mature trees across 17.57 hectares of forest land. The project aims to connect Zirakpur in Punjab to a toll plaza on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway, but has raised serious environmental concerns due to the low forest cover in both Punjab (3.67%) and Haryana (3.65%), far below the national average of 21.71%. Senior advocate Anand Chhibbar emphasized the potential ecological damage to the Panchkula area, known for its high tree cover of 44%. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) defended the project as crucial for alleviating traffic congestion, but the court has mandated that alternative routes be thoroughly examined and that compensatory afforestation should occur locally rather than in distant locations like Ferozepur. The project, estimated to cost ₹1,878 crore (approximately $226 million USD), is expected to commence construction by September and be completed within two years.