‘L-G thinks he is a court’: SC slams Saxena, Delhi govt. on tree-felling in protected area
The Hindu
The Bench slammed the Delhi government for exercising its ‘non-existent powers’ by issuing a notification on February 14 allowing the DDA to fell the trees
The Supreme Court on July 12 found that more than 420 trees were felled in the protected Delhi ridge area after Lieutenant Governor of Delhi V.K. Saxena said that he had given his approval.
A Special Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka said not one among the senior officers from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), or the Delhi Chief Secretary, had deemed it necessary to inform the L-G that cutting any tree would mandatorily require the prior sanction of the Supreme Court or approval from the tree officer under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994.
The Bench slammed the Delhi government for exercising its “non-existent powers” by issuing a notification on February 14 allowing the DDA to fell the trees.
“There is complete non-application of mind by L-G… I think L-G thinks he is a court. Did any officer inform the L-G that no tree in the ridge area can be cut without the sanction of the Supreme Court? Did you inform the L-G that permission is not given by the Delhi government but the Tree Authority? This is a very sorry state of affairs,” Justice Oka told lawyers representing the DDA and the Delhi government.
Also read | DDA emails show L-G had visited Ridge on Feb. 3 and asked to cut trees immediately: Bharadwaj
The “truth finally came out” when Ashok Kumar Gupta, member (engineering) with the DDA, and an eyewitness filed an affidavit on the court’s orders on what transpired during the L-G’s visit on February 3 to the spot where the trees were cut.
“The L-G had ordered the trees to be cut. That is why they did not go to the tree officer. This is only the tip of the iceberg,” senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the contempt petitioner, submitted.
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“We are organising a health research convention, which comprises a couple of workshops, community-based learning, and also cardiac care. We also included a one-day seminar on medical education, how medical education has evolved in India and the U.K., and what we can learn from each other” said Dr. Piruthivi Sukumar Dean of the International Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Leeds during his interaction with The Hindu.