Supreme Court to hear plea seeking ban on tree felling in Delhi without its approval

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea seeking to restrain the Delhi Government and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from allowing felling of trees in the Capital without the apex court’s permission.

A Bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice AG Masih on Friday asked the Delhi Government and others to respond by November 22 to the application which alleged that five trees were felled in Delhi every hour.

‘Green cover is 23% in Capital’

As per the India State of Forest Report-2021, the forest cover in Delhi is 13.15% and tree cover is 9.91%, therefore the total green cover is 23% as opposed to 33% mandated by the said policy. — The plea

Emphasising the urgent need to preserve fully grown trees, including generational or heritage trees, it called for the formation of an expert committee, led by a retired judge of the Supreme Court or Delhi High Court, to assess the tree protection measures in the Capital.

The law laid down by the top court has great significance for Delhi as the National Forest Policy mandates that one-third of the total land area of the country should be under forest or tree cover, it said.

“However, it is pertinent to note that till date, Delhi has not met the standards prescribed under the said policy. As per the India State of Forest Report-2021, the forest cover in Delhi is 13.15 per cent and tree cover is 9.91 per cent, therefore the total green cover is approximately 23 per cent as opposed to 33 per cent mandated by the said policy,” the application submitted.

A report containing its recommendation for the protection and preservation of existing trees and forests in Delhi should be submitted by the committee before the apex court, it added.

Referring to a February 2023 order of the Delhi High Court, the application said it was recorded that five trees were felled every hour in the Capital, based on the data provided by the Forest Department of Delhi.

The preamble of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act (DPTA), 1994, clearly states that it is “an Act to provide for the preservation of trees in the National Capital Territory of Delhi”, it said.

“There are procedural safeguards provided within the DPTA which are clearly visible in the flow of the Act wherein protection and preservation of trees precede the regulatory mechanism for felling of trees. These procedural safeguards have been grossly violated,” it submitted.

Referring to Section 7 of the DPTA, it said it is clearly enshrined in the Act that it shall be the responsibility of the tree authority to “preserve all trees within its jurisdiction” and also undertake critical study of the proposals of various government departments for construction of buildings, roads and factories with regard to the protection of the existing trees and planting more.