Calcutta, July 14: Stop that. The diktat from the green watchdog to the civic body was loud and clear, as it slammed the brakes on the tree-felling spree sweeping the city.

The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), in a letter dated July 13, told the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC): “… the permissions of the state board regarding cutting of the trees issued (to the CMC) are hereby withdrawn with immediate effect”.

The reason for the rap: “… the CMC has not yet submitted any compliance report to the state board about transplantation of the trees and also about the replantation of the trees”.

In recent months, close to 1,000 trees have fallen to the axe in the name of widening roads or soaring flyovers, water pipelines or sewerage revamp. Replenishment of the greens has remained a pipedream.

According to the WBPCB letter, “the competent representative” from the CMC must “appear before the state board on July 20 with an estimated cost of the trees which are cut down by the municipal authority without the requisite permission from the appropriate authorities… for the imposition of costs upon the CMC”.

The order, issued by board member-secretary Shyamal Sarkar, has been communicated to the civic headquarters by the board’s senior law officer Biswajit Mukherjee.

Mayor Subrata Mukherjee refused to read much into the restraining order. “We have already cut whatever trees were required to be cut and for which permission had been obtained”.

Sarkar spelt out the pollution board’s stand: “We didn’t have any other alternative. While issuing the permissions regarding cutting of trees to the CMC, the board repeatedly set certain conditions for transplantation and replantation of trees. But the CMC is yet to submit any proper compliance report regarding the same.”

This diktat could slow down infrastructure development, warned Debasish Kumar, chairman of Borough VII.

“A number of roads in my area are ready for widening and for that, we need a few trees to be cut. I don’t know what will happen to those projects… We are ready to abide by all the regulations framed by the board but the blanket ban should not have been imposed,” he added.

The one rule flout that has drawn the board’s attention is the CIT Road slaughter spree. The letter states that permission was given on June 11 “for cutting down 85 trees and transplanting 249 for widening CIT Road”.

But then, “... it is reported that the CMC started to cut down the trees without complying with the conditions”.

A number of complaints from various sources has prompted the WBPCB to step in.