Delhi HC stays NGT order on tree pruning in Vasant Vihar: What the rules say

What did the NGT order say?

The present plea challenged an NGT order in “Professor Dr. Sanjeev Bagai & Ors. vs. Department of Environment GNCTD & Ors” dated January 19, which held that if further pruning of trees was necessary, it would be carried out by the civic authorities concerned, MCD or DDA, strictly according to the provisions of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act (DPTA), 1994, and Guidelines dated October 1, 2019, issued by the Deputy Conservator of Forest (HQ)/Member Secretary, Tree Authority for Pruning of Trees under the Delhi Preservations of Trees Act, 1994.

What are the 2019 guidelines?

The Guidelines for Pruning of Trees, 2019, referred to by the officer in the NGT order, and relied upon by the Residents Welfare Association (RWA) are contrary to the 1994 Act and thus are “ultra vires,” the petitioners argued.

The 2019 Guidelines for pruning of trees state were prescribed so that trees are grown with great care and precision over several years and not pruned recklessly, as this could lead to a reduction of the city’s green cover, a sine qua non for a place like Delhi, or their untimely death, which is an offence under Section 8 of the DPTA, 1994.

The Guidelines define “pruning” as a horticultural and silvicultural practice that entails cutting off or removing dead or living parts of the branches, buds, or roots of the plant to improve its shape or growth. The reasons for carrying it out can range from reducing the risk of falling branches to removing deadwood or maintaining the plant’s health and growth.

However, it is also specified that the pruning should not be so large as to damage the tree, and allows trees of 15.7 cm girth to be pruned without permission. For trees with a girth above 15.7cm, the Tree Officer’s approval is required.

The actual pruning of the trees is carried out by the deputy director of the MCDs, NDMC, PWD, CPWD, DDA, or whoever is the land-owning agency, or by the property owner themselves. The forest department merely accords its permission or refusal for the same.

According to data submitted by Delhi’s forest department to the Delhi High Court in response to orders in 2022 in “Neeraj Sharma vs Vijay Sheel Saxena and Others”, a total of 47,474 trees were allowed to be transplanted or cut between 2019 and 2021 for various official projects or construction in Delhi. The Delhi government granted exemptions under DPTA, 1994, official data reveals.

However, this figure stood at a whopping 77,420 trees between 2019-2021. Out of these, 9,946 were cut by the tree officers under Section 9 of the DPTA and 47,474 by the government under Section 29 of the DPTA, which says that the government, in public interest, can exempt any area or tree species from all or any provisions of the Act.

What is the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, of 1994?

The Act provides statutory protection to trees to prevent them from damage in any manner that impedes their growth or ability to regenerate. Under Section 2(1) of the Act, a tree is any woody plant whose branches spring from and are supported upon a trunk or body not less than 5cm in diameter, at a height of 30cms from the ground level, and is not less than one meter high from the ground level.

Section 2 (h) of DPTA, 1994, states that “to fell a tree” means severing the trunk from the roots, uprooting, bulldozing, cutting, girdling, lopping, pollarding, applying arboricides, burning or damaging a tree in any other manner as factors causing the death of a tree.

Thus, Dr Sanjeev Bagai argued that the NGT order was contrary to provisions of the Act as approximately 800 trees were pruned or cut in the colony and that it was impossible for the tree officer to have inspected all of them and ensured only trees with branches of less than 15.7 cms in circumference were cut.

He also contended that procedures laid down under Section 9 of the Act were not followed, and thus the pruning was illegal.

What is the procedure for carrying out pruning in Delhi?

Section 9 lays down the procedure for obtaining permission to fell, cut, remove, or dispose of, a tree and allows “any person desiring to fell or remove or otherwise dispose of, by any means, a tree” to make an application to the tree officer for permission, accompanied by attested copies of documents in support of ownership over the land, the number and kind of trees to be cut, their girth measure at a height of 1.85 metre from ground level and the reasons for it.

After receiving the application, the tree officer can inspect the tree and hold an inquiry if necessary, following which permission may be either refused or granted wholly or partly for reasons recorded in writing.

However, such permission “may not be refused” if the tree- (i) is dead, diseased, or wind fallen; or (ii) is mature for silviculture and not on a steep slope; or (iii) is a danger to life or property, or (iv) an obstruction to traffic; or (v) is substantially damaged or destroyed by fire, lightning, rain or natural causes; or (vi) its cutting is required in rural areas for wood or leave or any part for use for fuel, fodder, or other domestic use.

The tree officer shall give his decision within 60 days from the date of receipt of the application. There are some caveats to this such as any person from the same area cannot apply more than twice a year “subject to a maximum area of one hectare at a time”.

Every permission granted under this Act shall be in this manner and “subject to such conditions, including taking of security for ensuring the regeneration of the area and replanting of trees.” This security could be in the form of a refundable deposit that accompanies the fees paid for pruning each tree, the cost of which stood at Rs. 57,000 per tree for commercial purposes, and Rs. 34,500 for non-commercial purposes in 2015.