Central Information Commission
Mr. Saurabh Sharma vs Government Of Nct Of Delhi on 5 August, 2011
CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
Club Building (Near Post Office)
Old JNU Campus, New Delhi - 110067
Tel: +91-11-26161796
Decision No. CIC/SG/C/2010/001439/13885
Complaint No. CIC/SG/C/2010/001439
Complainant : Mr. Saurabh Sharma,
C/o Joint Operation for Social Help,
C-7/E, DDA Flats, Munirka
New Delhi - 110 067
Respondents (1) : The Secretary (Environment)
Government of National Capital of Delhi,
Room No. C-602, level-6, C-Wing,
Delhi Secretariat, I.P. Estate,
New Delhi- 110 002
Respondents (2) : The Chief Secretary
Government of National Capital of Delhi,
Delhi Secretariat, I.P. Estate,
New Delhi- 110 002
Respondents (3) : The Secretary (Urban Development)
Government of India,
Ministry of Urban Development,
Nirman Bhawan,
New Delhi- 110 001
Facts arising from the Complaint:
The Complainant has filed the present Complaint under Section 18 of the Right to Information Act (hereinafter 'the RTI Act'), before this Commission, contending that the details of various provisions of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act be published on the website of the department. His request is reproduced below:-
"Section 4 of the RTI Act, envisages suo moto disclosures by all public authorities. The Forest Department, GNCTD deals with the Delhi Tree Preservation Act. Herein if any tree has to be felled, then an application has to be moved with the Tree officer, and if the Tree officer does not respond within 60 days then the permission is deemed to have been granted. Further if there is a request for felling from the same area on more then two occasions. Then no permission shall be granted. This process is quite unclear and without proper monitoring from the general public, anomaly therein can not be ruled out. Further more, there is a tree helpline for complaints against Page 1 of 6 tree felling. The details of all these may please be put up on their website, for the general public and effective monitoring please."
The Commission, taking cognizance of the Complaint issued a notice dated 23rd February 2011 to the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, contents of which are as follows :-
"The Commission has received a Complaint under Section 18 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, dated 1st December 2010 from Mr. Saurabh Sharma, copy of which is attached herewith, The same has been registered as Complaint no. CIC/SG/C/2010/001439.
In view of the aforesaid, you are requested to provide the following information to this Commission before the 10th of March 2011:-
1) The total number of applications received by the Department, seeking permission felling/cutting Trees in the year 2009-10.
2) The total number of complaints received by the Department on the Tree Help line in the year 2009- 10."
The above mentioned notice was dispatched by Speed Post No. ED497042789IN and according to the detailed movement report available on the Department of Post website, the same was delivered on 28/02/2011. However, the Commission has not received any response to the Notice till date.
While we address ourselves to the issue, it must be remembered that Article 48-A of the Constitution of India, in Part IV, containing directives of principles of State Policy, specifically provides that the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forest and wild life of the country.
Moreover, in the landmark judgement of M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India, the scope of Article 21 which deals with Right to Life was enlarged and Right to human health and healthy environment along with Right to enjoyment of pollution-free water and air for full enjoyment of life were incorporated in it's ambit. Right to clean environment was also comprehended as a Right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
In addition, in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, known as the Stockholm Declaration of 1972, it was proclaimed, that we see around us growing evidence of man-made harm in many regions of the earth; dangerous levels of pollution in water, air, earth and human beings; major and undesirable disturbances to the ecological balance of the biosphere; destruction and depletion of irreplaceable resources and gross deficiencies harmful to the physical, mental and social health of man, in the man-made environment, particularly in the living and working environment. Man it is stated is both creature and moulder of his environment. Both aspects of man's environment, the natural and the man made are essential to his well-being and to the enjoyment of basic human rights, even the right to life itself. One of the principles enunciated at the convention is that the natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and specific representative samples of natural ecosystems must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning and management as appropriate. As principle it was set out that the capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must Page 2 of 6 be maintained and wherever practicable, restored or improved.
It was further asserted in the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held at Rio De Janiero, that 'environmental issues are best handled with participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.' Thus, obligating member states to disseminate information concerning the environment.
Some of the important provisions of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, are:-
"Section (9) Procedure for obtaining permission to fell, cut, remove or dispose of, a tree.-
1. Any person desiring to fell or remove or otherwise dispose of, by any means, a tree, shall make an application to the concerned Tree Officer for permission and such application shall be accompanied by attested copies of such documents as may be prescribed 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 meters from ground level and the reasons therefore, copy of sajra showing clearly the site and khasra numbers of the property.
2. On receipt of the application, the Tree Officer may, after inspecting the tree and holding such enquiry as he may deem necessary, either grant permission in whole or in part or for reasons to be recorded in writing, refuse permission.
Provided that such permission may not be refused if the tree:-
i. is dead, diseased or wind fallen; or ii. is silviculturally mature, provided it does not occur on a steep slope; or iii. constitutes a danger to life or property or iv. constitutes obstruction to traffic ;or v. is substantially damaged or destroyed by fire, lightening, rain or other natural causes ;or vi. is required in rural areas to be cut with a view to appropriating the wood or leaves thereof or any part thereof for bonafide use for fuel, fodder, agricultural implements , or other domestic use.
3. The Tree Officer shall give his decision within sixty days from the date of receipt of the application:
Provided that no permission shall be granted to any person from the same area on more than two occasions during the same year subject to a maximum area of one hectare at a time.Page 3 of 6
4. If the Tree Officer fails to communicate his permission on request within the period specified under sub-section (3), the permission referred to in section 8 shall be deemed to have been granted.
5. Every permission granted under this Act shall be in such form and subject to such conditions, including taking of security for ensuring regeneration of the area and replanting of trees or otherwise, as may be prescribed.
Section 10. Obligation to plant trees- Every person, who is granted permission under this Act to fell or dispose of any tree, shall be bound to plant such number and kind of trees in the area from which the tree is felled or disposed of by him under such permission as may be directed by the Tree Officer:
Provided that the Tree Officer may, for reasons to be recorded in writing , permit lesser number of trees to be planted or trees to be planted in any different area or exempt any person from the obligation to plant or tend any tree.
Section 20. Power to prevent commission of offence - Every Tree Officer or his subordinates or any Forest, Revenue for the purpose of preventing the commission of any offence under this Act."
The object of the Act is to provide for the preservation of trees in the State by regulating the felling of trees and for the plantation of adequate number of trees to restore ecological balance and other matters connected therewith. This law is necessary to prevent ecological disturbance and to maintain ecological balance. The ecological balance has been disturbed due to indiscriminate felling of large number of trees in the rural and urban areas due to growing pace of urbanisation industrialization and increasing population which has led to erratic rainfall, recurring famines and floods, soil erosion etc. It is also an accepted fact that heavy concretization in the city is affecting the roots of trees. The soil becomes impermeable and causes asphyxiation. This has been recognised by the High Court of Delhi in the matter of Kalpavriksh vs. Union of India & Others W.P (C) 1772/2007, wherein specific directions were given to civic agencies for to de-concretization around trees.
According to the National Forest Policy, 1988, each State is under an obligation to maintain at least 33% of their land areas under Forest cover and for hill areas the requirement is 66 %. As stated in the India State of Forest Report 2009, the forest cover in Delhi, based on the interpretation of satellite data of October 2006, is 176.58 square km, which is only 11.91 % of the State's geographical area. Moving further, the estimated tree cover in Delhi is 123 square km, which equals to 8.29% of the geographical area. Consequently, the cumulative forest & tree cover amounts to 20.20 % of the total geographical area which is far less than the required number. Given the meagre forest cover in the State, the role of trees is very critical to the maintenance of ecological balance in the city of Delhi.
The Commission has also held consultation with Dr. Prabhakar Rao, a member of Kalpavriksh (an Environmental Action Group) and Professor at the University of Delhi. Furthermore, the Commission has perused the website of the department and appreciates the progress made in publishing various kinds of information in public domain. On perusal of the website of the department it is noticed that information regarding Complaints received on the Tree Helpline and requests received for tree felling is available, however the same has not been updated for a long duration and information from all the forest divisions is not available. It is also noted that Page 4 of 6 construction and developmental projects affect a large number of trees, which are felled, therefore the cost of each project is not just monetary but environmental also. The Citizens, who are informed through a sign board at the construction sites about the project details, must also be informed about the ecological cost and the compensatory plantation being done. The disappearance of various species of birds from the City is also attributed to the shrinking number of trees. The State Government has taken a bold initiative to plant one million saplings during this monsoon season, which is laudable. However, at the same time it is also necessary to protect and preserve the existing trees of the city.
The Right to Information is a fundamental right of the citizens which has been codified by the RTI act, No. 22 of 2005. The act envisions that all citizens shall receive information primarily by suo moto disclosures by various public authorities as prescribed by section (4) of the act. Disclosures in accordance with the said Section are crucial to ensure transparency and accountability in institutions. This would reduce the load of RTI Applications being filed with each institution as information would be freely available to citizens and they would not have to apply for it. It further envisages that citizens would be required to specifically ask for information under section (6) only in a few cases. Citizens have been demanding that certain information is essential to them and should be available proactively in form of public notice boards, display boards etc. The Commission feels that certain information which is essential for public safety should be published proactively.
Decision:
The Complaint is allowed.
In view of the above the Commission by virtue of the powers vested in it under section 19 (8)
(a) of the RTI act, 2005, hereby directs the department to fulfil its obligations under the RTI Act by specifically making the following information available on its website from 1 st September 2011 onwards:-
1) Details of permissions given for felling and pruning trees, together with the details of applicants, the number of trees, locations, the status of the application and detailed reasons for approval or rejection of the same. This shall be done for all applications received after 1st September 2011.
2) Details of complaints received on the tree helpline, together with the details of the number of trees threatened/ cut, location(s), the status of the complaint and status of prosecution undertaken till the date of final disposal. This shall be done for all complaints received after 1st September 2011.
3) The department shall also publish details regarding monitoring done, if any, for effective implementation of the Directions of the High Court of Delhi in the matter of Kalpavriksh vs. Union of India & Others W.P (C) 1772/2007, with regard to de-concretization carried out by various civic agencies. All documents and correspondences done with the civic agencies in this regard shall be published on the website.
4) The department shall also publish on the website the projects/studies/surveys undertaken, if any, regarding Biodiversity in neighbourhood parks.
All civic agencies carrying out any construction work shall also display along with the monetary costs and details of the project, the environmental cost, indicating the number of trees being Page 5 of 6 felled and the location of compensatory plantation. The Respondents viz. the Urban Development Ministry, Govt. of India, and the Chief Secretary Delhi, shall direct the concerned agencies under them to comply with this direction.
Necessary standing instructions shall be issued in this regard to all concerned officers, and the information should be updated by the 10th of each following month.
The above noted information shall be made available on the website of the department(s) before 1st September 2011. The Respondents shall send a compliance report of the above directions to [email protected] by the 10th of September 2011. The Report must include:
1. The details of standing instructions issued.
2. Measures put in place to ensure regular updating of the information uploaded on the website.
3. The exact web link where the information is available.
Notice of this decision be given free of cost to the parties.
Any information in compliance with this order will be provided free of cost as per section 7(6) of RTI, Act, 2005.
Shailesh Gandhi Information Commissioner 5th August 2011 Copy to :
Dr. Prabhakar Rao, C/o Kalpavriksh, No. 7, Top Floor, Sec- 15 A, Noida, U.P - 201301 (In any correspondence on this decision, mention the complete decision number.)(ANP) Page 6 of 6