National Green Tribunal
Naresh Chaudhary vs Union Of India on 9 May, 2023
Author: Adarsh Kumar Goel
Bench: Adarsh Kumar Goel
Item No. 01 Court No. 1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI
Original Application No. 334/2023
Naresh Chaudhary Applicant
Versus
Union of India & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 09.05.2023
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, CHAIRPERSON
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHIR AGARWAL, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE DR. A. SENTHIL VEL, EXPERT MEMBER
Applicant: Mr. Gaurav Kumar Bansal, Advocate
ORDER
1. Grievance in this application is against violation of environmental norms in constructions at 6 Flag Staff Road and 45-47 Rajpur Road, New Delhi by PWD, Delhi. In the course of development, permanent and semi- permanent constructions have been raised and more than 20 trees cut. The constructions required approval of Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) under the DUAC Delhi Urban Art Commission Act, 1973 which was declined by the DUAC in its 1564th meeting dated 06.11.2020 inter- alia with the following observations:-
"xxx........................................xxx......................................xxx h. The parking provision made in the front set-back be suitably relocated somewhere else and the green area be extended further to make it a large consolidated green space with appropriate landscaping. A lot of hard areas have been provided in the site without indicating its 1 application/use, the same needs to be minimised. There is an extensive peripheral road network around the site which needs to be rationalised with efficient site planning."
2. Section 12 of the DUAC Act provides that without approval of DUAC, approval to development proposal could not be granted by the concerned Municipal Corporation. Thus, construction was raised illegally, ignoring the observations of DUAC for increasing the green area which ipso facto is violation of Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 requiring valid approval for construction. Such violations are to the detriment of environment.
3. It is further stated that permissions were granted for felling 28 trees on different dates between 10.11.2020 to 12.04.2022 as per following chart annexed to the petition which is said to be a copy of record of Forest Department:-
SL. File no. Online ID Permission given Location of Status of Compensatory Status of Remarks No. for Transplant Transplant / Plantation (CP) CP on Transplant/Felling Felling on ground ground 1 F. No.09/NFD/ offline 9 trees (Mango-3, PWD Office, Mango-4, Amla- 90 trees to be Mango-4, Amla-2 TC/Felling/2020- Amla-2, Citrus-2, Khyber pass, 2 found at planted at Green trees, which were 21 dated Kadipatta-2) for KNR,Civil transplantation belt at Metcalfe Only 83 transplanted, have 10.11.2020 transplant from 6 Lines in dead & dry House, DRDO Pilkhan been found dead & Flag Staff Road, condition. Complex. (Ficus dry on ground. No Civil Lines Wrens) numbers have been trees found on tree.
have been found 2 F.No.19/NFD/TC offline 2 nos.of Mango PWD No mango tree 20 trees to be planted out No mango tree on /Felling/20-21 trees to be Office, on planted at Green of 280 at transplantation site dated transplant from 6 Khyber transplantation belt at Metcalfe proposed CP have been found 04.01.2021 Flag Staff Road , passe KNR, site have been House, DRDO site.
Civil Lines Civil Lines found Complex.
There were
60 pits
3 F.No.13/NFD/TC 3440 6 nos. of bottle palm Nil Nil 60 trees to be having no _
/Felling/2021-22 trees for felling planted at Green sign of
dated from 6 Flag Staff belt at Metcalfe plant there
17.08.2021 Road , Civil Lines House, DRDO (might have
Complex. died).
There have
4 F.No.44/CFD/TC 6288 06 trees Transplant- PWD Only 1 Bargad 60 trees to be
been no Only 1 Bargad tree has
/online/Felling/ 4 (Ashok-3, Bargad- Nursery tree has been planted at Green
sign of been found on ground
21-22 dated 1) and Felling-2 near found on belt at Metcalfe
planting of with no. 99 on trunk
28.02.2022 (Ficus benjamina-1& Majnuka Tila ground with no. House, DRDO
137 tree
Lasoda-1) from 45- 99 on trunk Complex.
saplings at
47 Rajpur road
the same
site.
2
5 F.No.05/CFD/TC 6483 05 trees PWD Nursery Ashok-3, Neem- 50 trees to 4 trees, which were
Felling/online ID (Transplant-4 & near Majnuka 1, Jamun-1 be transplanted, have
6483/22-23 Felling-1) (Ashok-3, Tila found at planted at Green been found dead & dry
dated Jamun-1, Neem-1) at transplantation belt at at site. Nonumbers
12.04.2022 45-47 Rajpur road site in dead & Metcalfe have been found on
dry condition -House, DRDO tree.
Complex.
Total 19 trees to Bargad-1 tree 280 trees to be Only 83 Out of 19 trees, only
be transplanted found healthy. planted at CP trees have Bargad-1 tree found
11 trees found site. been found in healthy
dead & dry. planted at condition. Other 11
Remaining 7 CP site. trees were in dead &
trees were not dry condition.
found on Remaining 7 trees
ground. were not
found on ground.
4. Further case of the applicant is that permissions for tree cutting were taken by manipulation and circumvention of order dated 10.02.2009. Instead of disclosing that 28 trees were to be cut in which permission of higher authority was required, permissions were taken in instalments of less than 10 trees. Order dated 10.02.2009 is reproduced below:-
"GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI DEPARTMENT OF FORESTS AND WILD LIFE A Block, 2"d Level, Vikas Bhavan,IP-Estate. New Delhi-2 Tel: 01 1-23370506; Fax: 011-23378513 http://forest.dethigovt.nic.in/ No. F. 8(207)/CF/HQ/DPTA/07-08/ Dated: February, 2009 ORDER In view of the sensitivity involved in removal of trees in NCT of Delhi, the Tree Officers are hereby directed that applications seeking permission for felling of trees numbering 10 to 20 and more than 20 trees under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, be processed and submitted to the Conservator of Forests and Secretary (E&F), Govt. of NCT of Delhi, respectively, before granting such permission.
This issues with the approval of the Secretary (E&F), Govt. of NCT of Delhi (Kamal Preet) Dy. Conservator of Forests (HQ)"
5. It is further stated that conditions for grant of permissions for cutting of trees required planting of 280 saplings. However, only 83 trees were 3 planted and thus, cutting of trees is in violation of conditions of permission. Such cutting is illegal for which accountability of the person responsible should be fixed as per law.
6. The applicant has also relied upon judgment of Delhi High Court dated 28.04.2022 in Neeraj Sharma v. Vinay Sheel Saxena & Ors., CONT.CAS(C) 851/2021 & CM APPL.8253/2022, laying down as follows:
"7. (...) It has to be borne in mind that permission is sought under the Delhi Tree Preservation Act, in which "preservation" of trees is the primary objective. The Tree Officer is repository of public faith and trust, that trees which form an essential part of people's lives are not allowed to be cut needlessly or wantonly. The statutory duty cast upon the Tree Officer necessarily requires assessment of the necessity to cut a tree for the project for which the permission is sought. A site visit would be prudent. The shortage of Tree-Officers, necessary support staff, cannot be an excuse for granting permission for cutting down trees in the city. The adverse environmental impact of such denudation is all too well- known. Compensatory afforestation if at all carried out, on the fringes of the city, far-removed from the congested areas of human habitation, where the sole decades-old-tree once stood as a carbon-sump-cum-fresh oxygen generator-cum-shade provider-cumvisual respite from the ever increasing concretization; the geographically distant and nascent compensatory plantation can hardly be of any respite or actual compensation. In any case, it will take decades for the compensatory forests to be of any reckonable benefit. In this capital city with its ever-bourgeoning populating, the cacophony of voices and rampant commercialization of every other street - robbing the residents of the familiar ambience of their residential neighbourhood, the ever-increasing motor-vehicular traffic, the choking air-pollution and the ever-creeping concretization, trees hold out as welcome and assuring living entities of hope, sanity, environmental redemption and even companionship."
7. We have considered the matter and heard learned Counsel.
8. In view of above averments and significance of requirement of compliance for cutting trees and providing green belt as a condition for constructions in congested and polluted city of Delhi, we consider it necessary to ascertain the factual position by constituting a joint Committee comprising Chief Secretary, Delhi, Principal Secretary (Environment & Forest), Delhi, nominee of Delhi Urban Art Commission 4 and District Magistrate of the area (District Magistrate, North). Meeting of the Committee may be held within one week and report may be furnished within three weeks from today by e-mail at [email protected] preferably in the form of searchable PDF/ OCR Support PDF and not in the form of Image PDF. The Committee will be free to interact with any other Department or Authority and undertake visit to the site. It may meet online or offline as may be found viable. If any violations are found, the Committee may take remedial action in coordination with the concerned statutory authorities, in accordance with law. It may give a copy of its report to alleged violators for response before this Tribunal, if any, before the next date.
List for further consideration on 31.05.2023.
A copy of this order be forwarded to Chief Secretary, Delhi, Principal Secretary (Environment & Forest), Delhi, Delhi Urban Art Commission and District Magistrate, North by e-mail for compliance.
The applicant may serve a set of papers on Chief Secretary, Delhi, Principal Secretary (Environment & Forest), Delhi, Delhi Urban Art Commission and District Magistrate, North and file an affidavit of service within one week.
Adarsh Kumar Goel, CP Sudhir Agarwal, JM Dr. A. Senthil Vel, EM May 9, 2023 Original Application No. 334/2023 SN 5