PWD damaged 80 trees during work in east Delhi: forest dept

A forest official, who is looking into the case, said a fresh inspection of the area will be carried out by the department on Wednesday, to assess if more trees have been damaged.

An inspection by the forest and wildlife department has found that the public works department (PWD) damaged 80 trees on Vikas Marg near Laxmi Nagar in east Delhi by carrying out trenching work for streetscaping. The department, which conducted a hearing on Tuesday, on the directions of the Delhi high court, also found that three trees were felled without permission, while the roots of 80 trees were exposed.

Representative image (HT photo)

It has now asked the executive engineer of the project to appear before the tree officer in person during the next hearing on Friday and explain why the PWD twice violated a work restraining order issued by the forest department in October 2021.

A forest official, who is looking into the case, said a fresh inspection of the area will be carried out by the department on Wednesday, to assess if more trees have been damaged. “No permission was sought from us... penal action can be taken against the PWD, if the agency is unable to show due cause,” the official said.

A PWD official, on condition of anonymity, said the work was part of the streetscaping project in Delhi: “Our officials will be present during the next hearing and they will be able to provide more clarity to the forest department, if required.”