A tree is priceless, but a Supreme Court appointed committee has for the first time given a monetary valuation of a tree. According to the panel, a tree’s monetary worth is its age multiplied by ₹74,500. The five-member committee of experts added that a heritage tree with a lifespan of well over 100 years could be valued at more than ₹1 crore. It has added that the monetary value of a project, for which hundreds of trees are cut, is sometimes far less than the economic and environmental worth of the felled trees.
The committee was asked to determine the economic value of trees, based on cost of oxygen they release, and other benefits to the environment.