Forest dept files case against Cantonment Board for ‘damaging’ trees

As this move violated the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994 (DPTA), the DCB received directions to plant 50 native trees under its jurisdiction for damaging the roots of multiple trees on Kotwali Road.

Published on: Feb 20, 2026, 04:36:09 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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New Delhi:Delhi’s forest and wildlife department has registered a case against the Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB) for allegedly damaging trees during the construction of a drain, officials said.

No immediate response was received from the DCB in the matter (Representative photo)

As this move violated the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994 (DPTA), the DCB received directions to plant 50 native trees under its jurisdiction for damaging the roots of multiple trees on Kotwali Road.

In an order dated February 10, a copy of which HT has seen, the tree officer (West) stated that following a complaint received on February 2 regarding illegal root damaging and concretising of trees at Kotwali Road, officials inspected the site and found that trees were damaged.

“After receiving the report from beat officials, the proceeding under the DPTA, 1994 was initiated against Delhi Cantonment Board. The report made it clear that the Delhi Cantonment Board violated the provisions of the DPTA and was liable to be punished for the offence under section 8 and 24 of the DPTA,” said the order, adding that the department registered a case and issued a notice to the DCB for an explanation.

The officer has further directed the DCB office assistant, who appeared in the hearing, to plant 50 native trees of at least six feet in height, with a space of three metres between each tree.

“These native trees are to be planted at a suitable site. Further, if any tree is found to be concretised within a radius of one metre, it shall be removed immediately,” said the report. It added that any failure to abide by or comply with the order will invoke provisions under the DPTA.

No immediate response was received from the DCB in the matter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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