Set up helpline, create web link to register complaints over damage to trees: Delhi HC to govt

Justice Najmi Waziri said that on receiving a complaint, the ‘tree officer’ will promptly initiate measures by coordinating with the land-owning agency concerned and the police to redress the problem.

The Delhi high court has directed the state forest department to set up a telephone helpline and create a link on its website where people can lodge complaints against concretisation or other kinds of damage to trees.

On an earlier occasion, the court had said it cannot be denied that there are hardly many trees in the Walled City, especially in the densely populated and heavily built-up area of Chandni Chowk.

Justice Najmi Waziri said that on receiving a complaint, the ‘tree officer’ will promptly initiate measures by coordinating with the land-owning agency concerned and the police to redress the problem.

Hearing a plea on unauthorised construction and damage to trees filed by one Nitin Gupta through advocate RK Kapoor, the court said, “The tree officer and the land-owning agencies shall ensure all concrete around trees is removed, as per the directions of the National Green Tribunal, and that a damaged tree is restored to good health.” It said the system should be notified to the general public through newspapers, electronic publications, etc.

The court’s order came after the tree officer said several trees in old Delhi had been choked with concrete. He said that to save them from premature death, the current deconcretisation exercise will have to be extended till all such trees are freed and hence such a system has to be put in place.

A senior forest official, who did not wish to be named, said, “Though we recently launched a new helpline to cater to complaints of both trees and wild animals in distress, and queries are being addressed in the shortest time possible, in this case, since we haven’t received the court order yet, we will be in a position to comment once we examine it in detail.”

On an earlier occasion, the court had said it cannot be denied that there are hardly many trees in the Walled City, especially in the densely populated and heavily built-up area of Chandni Chowk.

Each tree in that neighbourhood is valuable and would need protection, the court had said, and asked the tree officer and the municipal corporation to jointly embark on a tree-census exercise in the Walled City.

The corporation submitted a list of old trees in Dariba Kalan, Urdu Bazaar, Jama Masjid and Jagat Cinema on the orders of the court, which was hearing a plea for the restoration of a 300-year-old tree damaged by unauthorised construction.

On September 16, the north Delhi municipal corporation showed photographs of deconcretisation around trees in Urdu Bazar on the forest department’s orders.

The court, after looking at the photos, said while the corporation’s work needed to be acknowledged, it had to be pursued and extended further. The judge said some of concrete cleared was evidently not enough.

The court then asked the corporation to free more space around the trees to facilitate percolation of water and absorption of nitrogen and other minerals by the tree roots.

The matter would be now heard on October 7.

Aditya N Prasad, an environment lawyer who had petitioned against concretisation of trees, said, “Even if a dedicated helpline is set up, the question is who will attend the complaints as limited staff is available with the department. Concretisation or any other tree offence is directly linked to boots on the ground and hence the department must fill up the vacancies first to address these complaints.”

The forest department had recently launched a tree and wildlife helpline number to attend to complaints regarding trees and animals in distress. The helpline launched on September 10 has received a high number of calls regarding trees. Of the over 300 odd calls till Monday, around 160 were related to trees.

Prasad said the tree and animal helpline should not be mixed as it won’t be able to cater to the large volume of tree-related queries.