75% of projects in Delhi’s forest areas flouting terms, top court told
According to a September 4 report, only five of the 20 projects reviewed by CEC adhered to the conditions, including undertaking compensatory plantation, creation of a green belt on-site and taking necessary permissions under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
Three out of every four (75%) construction projects built recently in Delhi’s forest or Ridge areas have violated the conditions laid down by the top court, according to a review report of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which flagged rampant violations by several agencies.
Permission to build within the Ridge or a forest has to be first cleared by the Supreme Court-appointed CEC, followed by granting of permission by the apex court. In case of a Ridge, Delhi’s Ridge Management Board (RMB) also has to give permission for construction and felling of trees.
According to the September 4 report, only five of the 20 projects reviewed by CEC adhered to the conditions, including undertaking compensatory plantation, creation of a green belt on-site and taking necessary permissions under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
The report was also critical of the agencies responsible for building such projects, calling for the need to create a customised Management Information System (MIS) under which project proponents will have to share compliance proof, along with additional details of the project on the ground.
“It has been observed that the project proponent is interested in compliance of the conditions only till the time trees are felled and construction activities related to the project start on the ground and after that, no heed is paid to the conditions laid down by the Hon’ble Court,” says the report.
CEC said that out of the 20 projects, those that were yet to meet the conditions laid down included building of a hostel at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), construction at South Asian University (SAU) in Maidangarhi, waste-to-energy plant at Tehkhand in Okhla, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) complex at Maidangarhi and an NBCC India crafts complex project at Vasant Kunj.
Other projects include a foot-over bridge constructed by the Public Works Department at Anuvrat Marg, a defence ministry building at Malcha Marg and a Delhi Police building at Nanakpura, among others.
The only projects that complied to all conditions include an National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project at Dhaula Kuan, a Delhi Transco Ltd project, a Central Public Works Department (CPWD) project at Mahipalpur and a Referral and Research (R&R) Army Hospital of the Ministry of Defence, the report said.
“It is evident that a proper record of compliance of conditions imposed by Supreme Court has not been maintained by Delhi govt’s forest department and also by the Ridge Management Board. It has also been noticed that while recommending a project of a certain agency, its compliance record of conditions imposed in previous proposals has also not been looked into,” says the report, adding that a grace period of six months should be awarded to these project proponents to ensure compliance moving ahead.
CEC has further recommends RMB to not give permissions to a construction project of an agency if it has failed to meet the conditions of a previous project in Delhi.
Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmental activist, said that giving permission to build in a Ridge or forest area should be an exception, but if it is given, all efforts should be made to ensure the conditions required are followed.
“Despite best intentions, no department is really keeping a tab on the actual felling and compensatory plantation. There is little application of mind to preserve at the planning stage. Creating an online mechanism for this is only going to fill in the blanks, but we also need checks on the ground, as, at present, no one is doing that,” she said.