Independent agency can work on green cover in Delhi: Supreme Court

It also said it could consider passing an order to ensure all cars used by government and state-owned enterprises and organisations be electric

The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will ask an agency to enhance Delhi’s green cover amid concerns over the city’s bad air.

The bench pulled up the Delhi government for not doing enough to enhance the Capital’s green cover. (HT Archive)

It also added that it could eventually consider passing an order to ensure all cars used by the government and state-owned enterprises and organisations be electric.

Dealing with matters arising from a public interest litigation filed four decades ago by lawyer and activist MC Mehta on the poor air quality in Delhi, the bench pulled up the Delhi government for not doing enough to enhance the Capital’s green cover.The bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said that in June this year it when the court directed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to take constructive steps in this direction, but that except for holding meetings nothing has been done since.

“We propose to appoint an agency for enhancing green cover,” said the bench, and asked senior advocate Guru Krishnakumar who is assisting the court as amicus curiae to suggest an agency that could do this when the matter is next heard on December 18. One of the suggestions made by the amicus was of the Forest Survey of India (FSI). The Delhi government, represented by additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati pointed out that a working plan for a sustainable management of forest and biodiversity conservation for Delhi is being prepared by the Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute.

A K Singh, principal secretary, environment and forest, Delhi joined the hearing virtually and informed the court that the government has held four meetings thus far. The court reminded the officer that in October when the Delhi government filed an affidavit in this regard, it again mentioned meetings, and rued that there have been no constructive steps. Singh’s response was to point out that the government has held two more meetings since October and that “we can have another meeting.”

Upset at the response, the bench said: “If calling meetings is the only exercise you have carried out then we will appoint an independent agency and pass directions. Except for holding meetings nothing has been done. No satisfactory progress has been made in terms of what we said in our June 26 order.”

This same bench recently passed directions against stubble burning and monitored the enforcement of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR when the air quality in the Capital breached 450 making Delhi’s air toxic.

The court’s order of June 26 directed the Delhi forest department and all agencies concerned with ensuring green cover in Delhi to have a meeting with three court-appointed experts – former IFS officer Sunil Limaye, principal chief conservator of forests Ishwer Singh and environmentalist Pradeep Kishen to consider their recommendations for developing a scientific and targeted approach for improving sustainable tree cover in the Capital.

The top court recently asked for a tree census in the Capital while monitoring the role of the Tree Authority under the Delhi Tree Preservation Act (DTPA) in a petition filed by a Delhi resident Bhavreen Kandhari that claimed that Delhin was losing five trees every hour, and that official data shoed 60,000 trees were felled in the previous six years. That matter is also expected to be taken up on the next date of hearing.