Today, On 17th July, The Supreme Court criticized the Delhi government for authorizing the removal of 422 trees. The court emphasized that the government must accept responsibility for this decision. Environmental concerns and the impact on the city’s green cover were key points of contention.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court criticized the Delhi government for its insensitivity towards environmental protection, particularly for granting the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) permission to cut down 422 trees in the Southern Ridge’s reserve forest area for a road construction project.
Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan pointed out that the tree officer had not authorized the felling of these trees. The court reviewing suo motu contempt proceedings against the DDA’s vice chairman for allegedly cutting 1,100 trees in the ridge forest for road widening.
The bench stated in its July 12 order,
“The Delhi government must take the blame for granting permission to fell 422 trees, though there was no statutory power vesting in the Delhi government to grant such permission,”
The court noted,
“The government facilitated the cutting of trees outside the ridge area without proper authorization under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994. “
The bench also highlighted the Delhi government‘s lack of sensitivity towards environmental protection, noting that the tree officer and Tree Authority not even provided with an office or basic infrastructure.
The court demanded that the Delhi government explain how it plans to compensate for the environmental damage caused by its illegal actions.
The bench added,
“The affidavit of the Delhi government also shows that this is not the only instance where the forest department of the Delhi government purported to grant permission for the felling of trees. They had done it earlier also,”
The bench highlighted that the Delhi government asserted,
“The DDA has accepted that they misread the notifications issued by the Delhi government.”
However, the court clarified that this admission does not exempt the Delhi government from its responsibility for authorizing the felling of trees without the necessary statutory power.
The Supreme Court instructed the Delhi government to produce an action taken report regarding the officers accused of granting tree-felling permissions.
The bench stated,
“Apart from a statement on oath which we expect the Delhi government to make about compensating the loss caused to the environment, we hope and trust that the Delhi government will immediately stop exercising the non-existent power of granting permissions for the felling of trees.”
Additionally, the court directed the Delhi government to determine how many such permissions have been granted in the past five years and to provide a record of all these permissions.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court expressed frustration over the ongoing “cover-up” by authorities regarding Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena‘s role in the tree felling in the ridge area.
The court directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to clarify whether the decision to cut trees was based on the LG‘s oral permission or if the DDA made the decision independently.
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Senior advocate Aditya Sondhi, representing the Delhi government, assured the court that within six weeks, the Tree Authority and the tree officer would be provided with office infrastructure, staff, and necessary hardware and software.
The bench stated,
“The Delhi government shall also ensure that the Tree Authority is properly constituted before the next date. Regarding the forest department of the state government, the entire infrastructure must be put in place within two months from today.”
The court further directed,
“The Delhi government must file an affidavit indicating what measures the forest department is taking to prevent environmental damage, including keeping vigil to stop the illegal felling of trees.”
Previously, the court issued a notice of criminal contempt against DDA vice chairman Subhasish Panda for permitting the large-scale felling of trees in the Southern Ridge’s Satbari area to construct a road from Chhattarpur to the South Asian University.
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