The Supreme Court docket issued a prison contempt discover to Delhi Improvement Authority vice-chairman Subhasish Panda on Thursday for permitting large-scale tree felling within the southern Ridge’s Satbari space with a purpose to construct a highway from Chhattarpur to Saarc College, information company PTI reported. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan expressed displeasure with the vice chairman’s deceptive affidavit, which introduced incorrect info in court docket. It additionally required the planting of 1.
The highest court docket expressed sturdy disapproval of the DDA vice-chairman’s affidavit, which acknowledged that 642 bushes had been lower with out his data, saying it “can not belief the DDA now”. “I’ve been a choose in Constitutional courts for over 20 years, and I’ve by no means seen a physique misrepresent info or file incorrect affidavits. There should be some00 new bushes for each tree felled by the DDA. restrict, by no means earlier than seen,” Justice Oka acknowledged orally.
The highest court docket famous that tree felling continued for 10 days and that the DDA suppressed this reality regardless of realizing that no tree may very well be touched within the ridge space (per a 19995 order) with out the court docket’s permission. It was additionally famous that DDA officers misled the Delhi LG by failing to supply correct details about tree felling.
“Such conduct (by DDA VC) and suppression represent interference with the right course of court docket proceedings and the administration of justice. We have already issued a present trigger discover for civil contempt. In consequence, the bench issued a prison contempt discover. The Supreme Court docket additionally directed the DDA to halt all highway development actions.
“We consider that for each tree felled, the DDA ought to plant 100 new bushes. In consequence, we now have directed the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, to go to the highway stretches to find out what number of bushes could have been lower and to evaluate the injury. “Your entire report of the contractor should be shared. We request that the FSI group submit a preliminary report back to this court docket by June 20,” the bench acknowledged.
The highest court docket had beforehand issued a contempt discover to the vice-chairman of the Delhi Improvement Authority (DDA) for razing over 1,000 bushes for the development of an method highway. On March 4, the Supreme Court docket denied DDA permission to fell 1,051 bushes, citing an absence of readability of their software.
The Supreme Court docket dominated that, as an instrumentality of the State, the DDA should first try to guard the atmosphere by requesting the felling of solely these bushes which are completely mandatory. “They need to take into account whether or not alternate options may be explored to save lots of the bushes. Moreover, they plan to construct the highway by means of a forest. There is no such thing as a permission granted beneath the Forest Act.
“We direct the DDA to re-examine the proposal utilizing consultants within the discipline. The DDA’s train is critical to make sure that when public work is carried out, the naked minimal of bushes are felled,” the Supreme Court docket mentioned.
