HC glare on 900 extra trees cut for road-widening project in S Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has directed the government and the public works department to submit a report on the number of tress cut during a road-widening

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has directed the government and the public works department to submit a report on the number of tress cut during a road-widening project in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj. The court wanted to know the status of the wood of the trees.

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Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva issued notice to Unified Traffic & Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) and directed it to submit a report on the number of trees planted under the scheme of compensatory plantation, the nature of trees planted, the dates of plantation and their present status.

The high court order came on petitions filed by Bindu Kapurea and Ranjana Mitra, both Vasant Kunj residents.

The petition claimed that despite an undertaking given to the court, the authorities had felled about 900 trees “over and above what was permitted” for the Mehrauli-Mahipalpur road widening project.

The court was informed that of the total 810 trees listed for felling, at least 298 could be rescued.

“Petitioners appallingly found that 892 trees over and beyond what was permitted were felled by the respondents,” the petition filed through advocate Manoj V George said. George said even after felling of 892 trees on the stretch of road, no compensatory plantation had taken place in and around the areas from where the trees had been cut.