In response to the illegal felling of 1,100 trees in South Delhi’s Reserve Forest Area without Supreme Court permission, the Kejriwal Government has taken a firm stand. Concerned about the significant environmental damage, Environment and Forest Minister Gopal Rai held an urgent meeting with Forest Department officials on Wednesday, demanding all relevant records and a status report on actions taken so far. The Forest Department has been instructed to provide this information by 11 am on Thursday. The Supreme Court is currently hearing a petition from an NGO regarding the illegal tree cutting in the Ridge Area.
Actually, a few days ago, an NGO had raised the issue of cutting 1,100 trees without any permission in the Ridge area of South Delhi before the Supreme Court. The NGO told the court that 1,100 trees have been cut illegally in the Reserve Forest Area of South Delhi. Whereas it is necessary to take permission from the Supreme Court before cutting trees in the Ridge area. Even after getting the information about cutting these trees, the Forest Department did not take any action. The NGO told the court that after cutting the trees, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) came to the Supreme Court to seek permission to cut them. The DDA did not tell the Supreme Court that it had already cut these trees. The DDA has disobeyed the order of the Supreme Court and has also lied on its affidavit.
It should also be noted here that only the Supreme Court can give permission to cut trees in the forest areas of Delhi. When the DDA’s theft was caught, the Supreme Court asked on whose orders these trees were cut? Meanwhile, the Delhi government has also taken this matter seriously after the strictness of the Supreme Court.
