Ridge tree felling case: Delhi Minister asks Chief Secretary for details of landowners where trees were cut

The letter, written on Tuesday, includes the alignment map passed by UTTIPEC (Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre) for the road project. Bharadwaj has alleged that the approved alignment was changed to benefit a few property holders.

“There are serious allegations that the alignment was designed to protect the interest of certain farmhouse owners, at the cost of environmental damage, Subsequently, the trees were cut along a different alignment to give certain undue benefit to selected few,” he wrote in the communication to the Chief Secretary.

He has also sought details of the khasra number of the property and the size of the holding.

The DDA did not respond to questions regarding the allegations that the alignment had deviated from what was approved by UTTIPEC.

Bharadwaj had, in a press conference, on July 11, alleged that the DDA under the Lt Governor had “sacrificed 1,100 trees to save farm houses located in the vicinity of the area where the tree felling took place.

In fact, a plea against the acquisition of land, filed by two farmhouse owners, is currently being heard in the Delhi High Court. While the court had ordered a status quo in the matter, the petitioners have alleged that their land was acquired illegally and demolition was carried out.

A petitioner, who did not want to be named as the matter is still being heard by the HC, alleged that the farmhouses on the opposite side of the road, have not been touched despite being part of the original plan for acquisition.

The High Court, meanwhile, directed DDA as well as the Land Acquisition Collector to file a site plan of the area clearly demarcating the areas that have been acquired.

Central to the controversy is the approval for cutting hundreds of trees which fall in forest (the Southern Ridge) and non-forest areas. The procedure to cut trees is different for both categories. In the forest areas, permissions have to be sought at three levels — the Ridge Management Board, the Central Empowered Committee set up by the Supreme Court and finally the Supreme Court. While permission to cut over 1,000 trees in the forest was granted by the first two, the Supreme Court’s permission was awaited.

In the non-forest areas, permission is sought under the Delhi Protection of Trees Act. In case the area where trees have to be felled is spread over more than one hectare, special permission has to be sought from the Chief Minister as well as the Lt Governor, after which the matter is referred to the Tree Officer. In the present case, 422 trees were cut without following the last step.

A forest department report submitted in the Supreme Court by DDA said once the approval of the Lt Governor was received a notification of exemption was issued in February 14. The L-G’s approval came after an approval from CM Arvind Kejriwal who noted that the L-G was bound by his aid and advice on the subject.

The report also said that DDA informed the department in May that this notification was misread as final permission.

While DDA vice chairperson Subhashish Panda stated that the tree officer issued a letter on February 15, recommending cutting/transplanting 422 trees, the forest department in its report said, “it is important to note that no permission was granted by the Tree Officer…”