‘Will shut you down’: High Court warns Delhi forest department over non-compliance of order

The Delhi high court came down heavily on the forest department on Wednesday and directed it to remove concrete constructions surrounding trees in the Bikaji Cama Place complex immediately, warning the department that it would be “shut down” in case of non-compliance with the court’s orders.

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Questioning the construction of an enclosed platform (chabutra) around the trees on the footpath — which was done for “beautification purposes” — the court observed that the enclosure restricted the movement of pedestrians as well.

“...this is a footpath and you put concrete structure on the footpath. What is happening? I’ll shut down your department (forest). You’re too incompetent. What is this beautification? What is this aesthetic? This is not going in the right direction. I don’t know whether you need to regij your department...,” justice Jasmeet Singh told advocate Jawahar Raja who appeared for the forest department.

Justice Singh added, “On pavements you make structures. It (the footpath) is for trees and it is for movement. I’m sure, some balance can be struck. How do you address this promptly after 50 days? This is not going in the right direction. This is painful.”

The court was considering a plea filed by Aditya N Prasad seeking to initiate contempt against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the forest department for failing to comply with its 2020 orders directing the department to set up a telephone helpline and a website (to ease the process of lodging complaints regarding damage to trees), mandating a one-metre open space around the trunk of trees and prohibiting construction activity around them.

The court also directed the deputy conservator of forest to file a detailed affidavit on the extent of the violations and the remedial measures regarding the protection of trees.

On Wednesday, Prasad submitted that construction was completed around trees by violating the directions of the high court and the National Green Tribunal. He submitted that despite him making a complaint, the construction work continued and the department failed to take any preventive measures, adding that his complaint was relayed to the division concerned only after 48 days.

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To be sure, the Delhi high court had on Monday expressed extreme displeasure regarding the failure on the part of the Capital’s forest department and Public Works Department (PWD) to implement its directions concerning greening of arterial roads and forest areas by planting fruit-bearing and flowering trees.

The court had said that there was a lack of will and that the departments have to find ways to ensure that the plantation of trees was done on high priority.