SC allows tree felling, road widening in Southern Ridge to provide access to CAPF hospital

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant allowed the DDA’s application seeking diversion of 2.97 hectares of forest land for road construction, completion of road work on 0.79 hectares of morphological ridge, felling of 152 trees, and translocation of more than 2,500 tree saplings and shrubs planted along the road

The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the decks for the central armed paramilitary forces to fully access a multi-specialty hospital in south Delhi, granting permission to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to widen a road in the Southern Ridge near Chhattarpur to provide access to the hospital, and observing that “anything for the benefit of paramilitary forces should not be stopped”.

The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, said, “Even if it is to be increased to 50 metres, we will not stop it because it is for the paramilitary forces.” (HT Archive)

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant allowed the DDA’s application seeking diversion of 2.97 hectares of forest land for road construction, completion of road work on 0.79 hectares of morphological ridge, felling of 152 trees, and translocation of more than 2,500 tree saplings and shrubs planted along the road.

The DDA informed the court that the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS) is currently providing out-patient department (OPD) services, but full-fledged functioning is not possible until the access road is widened to 30 metres to enable smooth movement of ambulances and patients.

The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, said, “Even if it is to be increased to 50 metres, we will not stop it because it is for the paramilitary forces.”

The DDA’s application arose from a contempt petition filed by Delhi resident Bindu Kapurea, who flagged the felling of trees by the authority in the Southern Ridge in violation of a 1996 Supreme Court order that requires prior permission of the top court before any tree is felled in the ridge area, which serves as Delhi’s green lung.

Appearing for Kapurea, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, along with advocate Manan Verma, cited the court’s May 28, 2025 judgment disposing of the contempt petition with a direction to the DDA to plant over 1.62 lakh saplings as compensation for trees illegally felled.

Sankaranarayanan said the plantation exercise was to begin only by March 1 and that until there is compliance with the order, permission for further tree felling should be considered only after March 31.

Responding, the bench said, “We do not know to whom the DDA has given the contract. Meanwhile, why should the central armed paramilitary forces (CAPF) be made to suffer? The hospital is ready. When people can have helipads constructed in hospitals, why should these poor people not be allowed even access to an ambulance?”

While allowing the DDA’s application, the court directed that for every tree felled, five saplings must be planted. It clarified that this plantation would be over and above the earlier May 2025 order directing the planting of 1.62 lakh saplings. “They should have a target of planting not less than 2 lakh saplings,” the court told the DDA.

An expert committee comprising former principal chief conservator of forests Sunil Limaye and environmentalist Pradip Kishen, which is monitoring the plantation process, was permitted by the court to report directly to the CJI in case of any delay, negligence or reluctance on the part of the DDA in carrying out the exercise.

Further, both the DDA and the expert committee were directed to submit status reports in April, when the matter will be taken up next.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the DDA along with senior advocate Maninder Singh, told the court that 18 sites have been identified for the plantation but these land parcels will be ready only by February 28. Mehta added that one member of the earlier three-member expert committee, Ishwar Singh, had joined the National Green Tribunal. The court asked senior advocate Guru Krishnakumar, assisting it as amicus curiae, to suggest a suitable replacement by Friday.

Singh pointed out that while the initial proposal involved felling 473 trees, the DDA reconsidered the plan and decided to translocate 321 trees, limiting felling to 152. He also said boundary walls around the identified plantation sites would be completed by March 31.

Mehta submitted that the permission sought by the DDA was in line with the National Building Code, 2016, which prescribes a minimum road width of 24 metres for hospitals and buildings with large public occupancy. “At present, only OPD services are available. With this order, the hospital will now be able to function fully,” he said.

The CJI directed the DDA to adhere strictly to the timelines assured to the court, and noted that in his capacity as NALSA patron-in-chief, he had discussed the issue during interactions with CAPF personnel and their families while providing free legal aid.

It was on Kapurea’s petition that the court had earlier ordered an inquiry and found the DDA at fault for felling more than 1,000 trees in the ridge area without obtaining the court’s permission. A subsequent internal inquiry by the DDA named executive engineer Manoj Kumar Yadav, officials Pawan Kumar and Ayush Saraswat, and superintendent engineer Pankaj Verma for suppressing facts from the court.

While holding the DDA guilty of contempt in its May 2025 order, the court had refrained from taking punitive action, citing the larger public interest served by the road project intended to provide connectivity to the CAPFIMS hospital. To prevent future violations, the bench mandated that all orders or notifications relating to tree felling, afforestation or construction activities with ecological implications must explicitly disclose any pending cases before the court.