New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (June 24) expressed outrage over the felling of 1,100 trees for a road-widening project in south Delhi, terming it “brazen damage to the environment”. The court warned that it may issue a contempt notice to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, who is the chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Hindustan Times reported.
“Such brazen damage to environment cannot be ignored by courts. 1,100 trees have been felled. It is such a serious matter and you are taking it so casually. If statutory authorities do not perform their functions, courts will have to give a clear message to authorities that environment cannot be damaged in this fashion,” the bench comprising of Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan were quoted as saying by HT.
The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by a Delhi resident, Bindu Kapurea, who alleged that trees were cut despite a court order denying permission. The judges said that the felling of trees has caused “irreparable damage” and indicated that they may direct a “massive afforestation and replanting drive” in the national capital to make up for the damage, the report added.
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Further, the court raised objections with respect to the DDA’s practice of employing serving judicial officers as legal advisors, calling it a violation of judicial independence. The judges also underlined that on fixing responsibility within the agency over the tree-felling, warning that the LG could be included in the case.
The Supreme Court justices emphasised the need to hold accountable those responsible for the tree felling within the DDA. They hinted that Lieutenant Governor Saxena, as the chairperson of the DDA, may also be implicated in the case. This comes after an internal DDA inquiry identified three officers — Manoj Kumar Yadav, Pawan Kumar, and Ayush Saraswat — as responsible for allowing the trees to be cut. However, the court believes these officers are being made “scapegoats,” HT reported.
The court asked the DDA vice chairman, Subhashish Panda, to give a “clear statement of facts” on who ordered the trees to be cut. The court pointed to email communications that showed the LG had directed the felling of trees, and said that if this was the case, they would not hesitate to make him a party to the case.
The court will address contempt proceedings against the DDA officials on July 10. The larger issue of ridge area depletion and felling of trees in the Delhi ridge region is another issue pending before a separate bench of the apex court, the HT report mentioned.
