Supreme Court reserves verdict in contempt plea on DDA for illegal tree felling in protected ridge area

Supreme Court reserves verdict on contempt petition against DDA for illegal tree felling in protected ridge area.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 21, 2025) reserved verdict in a contempt petition filed against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) vice-chairperson for the illegal felling of trees in the protected ridge area without prior permission from the top court.

Appearing before a Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, senior advocate Gopal Sanakaranarayanan, for petitioner Bindu Kapurea, argued that the DDA applied for permission in the apex court without informing the court that the felling had already begun.

The petitioners submitted that a Forest Survey of India report counted the number of trees felled to be 1,670. However, the DDA claimed it was 642 trees. The trees were chopped down for a road to the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS) in Maidangarhi.

The petitioners had alleged that the trees were chopped down on the orders of Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena, who had visited the site on February 3 last year.

On October 16, the apex court had decided to have the Lieutenant-Governor (LG), an ex-officio chairperson of DDA, file an affidavit explaining his alleged role and what really happened on February 3. Mr. Saxena said he had visited the road-widening site on February 3 en route from the CAPFIMS Hospital site. He claimed no one had told him that felling the trees would require permission from the Supreme Court.

“We need to see the gravity of contempt in this matter. Whether the trees were felled for widening of road to the hospital meant for paramilitary jawans, who serve in remote areas like in jungles or in Leh, where there are minimal medical facilities. Or, were the trees felled to widen the road for the benefit of affluent persons of the area,” Justice Kant observed orally.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the L-G, said the authorities would plant around 70,000 saplings to purge the contempt instead of the mandated 5,340 saplings.