Satbari tree transplantation: SC panel slams ‘near zero’ survival

A court-appointed expert committee has criticised DDA's handling of an ongoing tree transplantation exercise linked to the controversial Satbari project

A court-appointed expert committee has sharply criticised the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) handling of an ongoing tree transplantation exercise linked to the controversial Satbari road-widening project, warning that poor technical execution, inadequate preparation and a near-total failure of already transplanted saplings risk rendering the exercise futile.

In a report submitted to the SC after inspections conducted in April 2026 a three member panel overseeing ecological restoration in the area said DDA’s transplantation efforts were marked by a “lack of technical experience and knowledge” (PTI)

In a report submitted to the Supreme Court after inspections conducted on April 17 and April 22, a copy of which HT has accessed, the three-member panel overseeing ecological restoration in the area said DDA’s transplantation efforts were marked by a “lack of technical experience and knowledge”, leading to delays and an alarmingly poor survival rate.

The committee, comprising environmentalist Pradip Krishen and former forest officials MD Sinha and Sunil Limaye, observed that the “survival rate of the few plants already transplanted was nearly zero” and cautioned that transplantation should not be treated as a routine engineering exercise.

To be sure, transplantation of trees in the Capital has always been an exercise that has failed to yield ideal results. In an affidavit submitted in Delhi High Court in 2022, the forest department had said that only 33% of 16,461 trees transplanted between 2019-2021 survived. Similarly, the Centre reported that 43% of trees transplanted for the Central Vista project perished, with 1,545 of 3,609 trees failing to survive.

The findings come nearly two years after DDA and senior officials, including those linked to the lieutenant governor’s office, came under the Supreme Court’s scanner over the felling of more than 1,000 trees in the ecologically sensitive Satbari forest area in south Delhi for a road-widening project intended to provide access to the under-construction Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS).

The project triggered contempt proceedings after trees were cut in the Southern Ridge without obtaining prior permission from the apex court. In May 2025, the Supreme Court held DDA officials guilty of contempt, describing the episode as a case of “institutional missteps and administrative overreach”. The court directed compensatory afforestation measures and constituted the expert committee to supervise ecological restoration along the project corridor.

Since then, the committee has been working with government agencies on plantation and restoration efforts in the area.

However, court records and submissions made by DDA earlier this year show that around 2,500 trees, shrubs and saplings planted as part of the restoration effort are now proposed to be translocated to facilitate completion of the same road-widening project.

In February, DDA approached the Supreme Court seeking permission for diversion of forest land, transplantation of 2,519 saplings and additional tree felling required for the project. While the court granted clearance subject to conditions, the latest report raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the transplantation exercise being carried out.

The committee found that several trees and saplings earmarked for relocation had not been prepared in accordance with technical protocols previously shared with DDA.

DDA did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the report, five fully grown Pongamia pinnata, commonly known as Papri trees, had been bagged and wrapped for shifting. However, inspectors found the root balls attached to the trees were far too small to sustain them after relocation. “In their present state, these trees were not fit for shifting from the site,” it noted.

The committee found similar shortcomings in the handling of smaller shrubs and saplings.