New Delhi, Expressing anguish over the continued cover-up by the authorities over LG V K Saxena's role in tree sensation in the hills area, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to inform you if the tree felling order was approved. based on LG's oral permission or the agency made the decision independently.
The high court was hearing suo motu (on its own) contempt proceedings against the DDA vice-president for allegedly felling 1,100 trees in the ridge forest for a road widening project.
Observing that the Delhi LG had completely lacked discretion in granting permission for felling of trees, a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said it should have been informed on the first day of the hearing that the LG had already issued instructions for felling trees.
"What worries us is that everyone has made a mistake. On the first day, everyone should have come to court and said there was a mistake on our part. But the cover-up goes on and on. After four or five orders, the truth comes out in the “According to the affidavit of the DDA officer, everyone committed the mistake, including the lieutenant governor. "We regret the situation," the court said.
The top court said it became aware of LG's role in the matter when Attorney General R Venkataramani appeared for him and said, "It was a sufficient indication."
The high court said the Delhi government is equally at fault for felling trees in the ridge area and must bear the blame for illegally granting permission to fell 422 trees.
He asked the AAP government to come up with a mechanism to compensate for this illegal felling of trees.
Examining the two affidavits filed by the DDA vice-chairman, the court said prima facie, it appears to us that there was reluctance on the part of all concerned to record what exactly happened during LG's visit to the site on February 3 2024. when the oral order to cut down trees was issued.
“It appears that LG has claimed that felling of trees under the tree act was already permitted on the basis of its approval and therefore the DDA should be informed about the approval.
"The most unfortunate thing is that although all senior officials of the state government were present, none of them pointed out the requirement of obtaining permission from the court for felling trees in the hills area and permission from the tree officer for felling trees in other areas," the report said. the bench said while notifying the contractor and seeking an explanation in which direction the tree felling was carried out.
The high court also directed the Delhi government to file an affidavit stating whose order it was to seize the logs and asked the contractor to inform the location of the felled trees.
"Authorities shall make a plan to maintain constant surveillance so that cases of illegal felling of trees are immediately reported to the authorities," the court said.
The high court had earlier issued a criminal contempt notice against DDA vice-chairman Subhasish Panda for allowing large-scale felling of trees in Satbari area of South Ridge to construct a road from Chhattarpur to Southern University. Asia.
The high court was hearing suo motu (on its own) contempt proceedings against the DDA vice-president for allegedly felling 1,100 trees in the ridge forest for a road widening project.
Observing that the Delhi LG had completely lacked discretion in granting permission for felling of trees, a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said it should have been informed on the first day of the hearing that the LG had already issued instructions for felling trees.
"What worries us is that everyone has made a mistake. On the first day, everyone should have come to court and said there was a mistake on our part. But the cover-up goes on and on. After four or five orders, the truth comes out in the “According to the affidavit of the DDA officer, everyone committed the mistake, including the lieutenant governor. "We regret the situation," the court said.
The top court said it became aware of LG's role in the matter when Attorney General R Venkataramani appeared for him and said, "It was a sufficient indication."
The high court said the Delhi government is equally at fault for felling trees in the ridge area and must bear the blame for illegally granting permission to fell 422 trees.
He asked the AAP government to come up with a mechanism to compensate for this illegal felling of trees.
Examining the two affidavits filed by the DDA vice-chairman, the court said prima facie, it appears to us that there was reluctance on the part of all concerned to record what exactly happened during LG's visit to the site on February 3 2024. when the oral order to cut down trees was issued.
“It appears that LG has claimed that felling of trees under the tree act was already permitted on the basis of its approval and therefore the DDA should be informed about the approval.
"The most unfortunate thing is that although all senior officials of the state government were present, none of them pointed out the requirement of obtaining permission from the court for felling trees in the hills area and permission from the tree officer for felling trees in other areas," the report said. the bench said while notifying the contractor and seeking an explanation in which direction the tree felling was carried out.
The high court also directed the Delhi government to file an affidavit stating whose order it was to seize the logs and asked the contractor to inform the location of the felled trees.
"Authorities shall make a plan to maintain constant surveillance so that cases of illegal felling of trees are immediately reported to the authorities," the court said.
The high court had earlier issued a criminal contempt notice against DDA vice-chairman Subhasish Panda for allowing large-scale felling of trees in Satbari area of South Ridge to construct a road from Chhattarpur to Southern University. Asia.
