No felling of trees for South Delhi govt housing project till July 4, Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has stayed the move of the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) to fell trees in seven areas of South Delhi, until July 4..The order was passed yesterday by a Bench of Justices Vinod Goel and Rekha Palli in a petition filed by Dr. KK Mishra, through Advocate Manish Verma. Advocates Shrutanjaya Bharadwaj and Jayant Mehta made arguments for the petitioner. The National Capital Territory of Delhi was represented by Advocate Ramesh Singh, whereas Senior Advocate JP Sengh appeared for the NBCC. .The petitioner has challenged Environmental Clearances (ECs) and Terms of Reference (ToRs) granted by the Central government, to clear trees for a housing-development project in the areas of Sarojini Nagar, Naoroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Thyagaraja Nagar, Mohammadpur and Kasturba Nagar..According to the petitioner, the NBCC’s plan would involve the complete decimation of almost 20,000 trees in these areas..Dr Mishra has pointed out that the proposal to clear these trees has been allowed, despite the fact that Delhi is a critically polluted area. As noted in the petition, this has been recognised by the Supreme Court, the High Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT)..Further, it has been contended that the proposed construction activities would also be in violation of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s 2017 ban on construction activities, passed in light of the deplorable air quality in Delhi..An ancillary concern raised is the substantial water consumption necessary to undertake the proposed construction activities despite Delhi’s emergent water crisis. In this regard, it has been pointed out,.“…the requirements for construction of 61 Kilo litres per day (KLD) for Sarojini Nagar are to be met ‘through tankers by Civil Contractors’ and during the operational phase, 11,347 KLD to be met by NDMC. Similarly, the water requirements for operational phase in Netaji Nagar of 5286 KLD are to be met by the NDMC. .There has been no explanation as to where this water is to be sourced from when the city faces a severe groundwater crunch, nor is it clear as to where the ‘tankers’ are to procure precious water from. This arbitrary action would grossly breach Article 14 of the Constitution.”.Dr. Mishra has argued that the compensatory measures intended to be taken after the trees are felled are not sufficient to remedy the loss of trees..“The poor excuse of saplings being planted in a different location would be absolutely no substitute for the trees that are killed today.”.With particular reference to the compensatory afforestation proposed to be taken in lieu of the trees to be felled in the Sarojini Nagar area, the petition notes,.“It is inconceivable how the lungs of Delhi’s residents are supposed to remain in suspension for 30 years or so till the newly planted saplings (in Wazirpur) are expected to compensate for the loss of tree cover.”.The move of the government to allow the tree felling despite these concerns has been called out as a biased measure, since it involves benefits for government employees..“Unfortunately, as the present projects pertain to residences for the Government servants themselves, these Respondents have lost their sense of objectivity and granted prompt clearances without considering the detrimental environmental effects that affect the city and its population of nearly 20 million citizens.”.In this background, Mishra has argued that the proposed felling of trees and construction activity would amount to a violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution, as well as a violation of the Public Trust Doctrine..“It has repeatedly been laid down by the Supreme Court that trees are held in ‘public trust’ by the Government on behalf of the public and that the right to a clean environment is protected by Article 21 of the Constitution. The impugned ECs and ToRs that have been granted amount to an outrage on the delicate ecosystem of the capital amounting to a clear violation….It is submitted that with the grave violations of the public trust doctrine, Articles 14 & 19 of the Constitution and the existing legal regime on pollution, waste management and water conservation, the Respondents’ actions are vulnerable and ought to be quashed.”.Therefore, he has prayed that the Court quash the impugned ECs and ToRs granted for tree-felling and proposed construction by the NBCC..The NBCC had argued that the petition was liable to dismissed, given that the petitioner had not challenged relevant State Government notifications and orders of the Tree Officer passed in 2017 and 2018. It was also pointed out that similar matters were due to be taken up by the National Green Tribunal (NGT)..The Court however allowed the petitioner three days time to amend the petition in order to include a challenge to the said notifications and orders. It was also pointed out that the orders of the Tree Officer cannot be challenged before the NGT. The Court ordered the interim stay on felling of trees, after JP Sengh submitted that no tree would be cut in the concerned areas until the next date of hearing..Read order below:.Read the petition below: