Forest department stops tree pruning at DLF Phase 1

Forest guards stopped the pruning of a Peepal tree in DLF Phase-1 on Friday claiming it was illegal

Forest guards stopped the pruning of a Peepal tree in DLF Phase-1 on Friday claiming it was illegal. But the local councillor said all rules were observed and that it was done to help the people.

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Forest range officer (Gurugram range) Karambir Malik said, “Our guards were patrolling at Arjun Marg in DLF Phase-1 when they saw a tree being pruned without permission from the forest department. They immediately stopped it.”

The forest department registered a case against two persons under Section 4 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Malik said a Peepal tree could only be cut under specific situations like if the tree was growing inside a house or posed a threat to life.

The forest department’s complained named Sundar Bhatti, who works with the local councillor R S Rathee. “We had been getting complaints from people in the area that monkeys were spotted on the tree and that the animals posed a threat to people. As representatives of the public, we were only helping in solving their problem. We did not cut the tree, it was only being pruned,” he said.

Councillor Rathee said, “None of the trees in the area had been pruned in the last four years. Senior citizen residents had been complaining that they were not getting enough sunlight. We were trimming the tree as per norms, but we stopped it when the forest officials asked us. We did not violate any rule.”

In September 2020, the Gurugram Police registered a case against unidentified persons for allegedly chopping around 40 to 50 trees illegally, damaging a green belt and a drain in front of Block C of Mayfield Garden in Sector 50.

Earlier, residents’ welfare associations have also been fined for illegal pruning of trees in the city.