Court asks forest dept to find out how many trees still concretised

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Monday ordered an inspection of the extent of concretisation of trees in the city, taking note of the manner in which several trees were uprooted in the recent storm.
Justice Jasmeet Singh directed the forest department to conduct a survey of all colonies and find out how many trees are still surrounded by concrete. He asked all the deputy conservators of forests in charge of various zones in Delhi to “inspect and inform” the court about concretisation, so that the court can issue further directions.
The bench was dealing with a clutch of petitions relating to wellbeing of trees and their preservation. These included taking stock of functioning of tree helpline and standard operating procedure to involve the forest department in planning infrastructure projects that require felling of trees by various other agencies.
On Monday, the court also asked authorities to explain if the forest department was consulted and other options explored to save 275 trees that were felled for a project.
The court has regularly flagged the need to remove concrete around trees. Last year, advocate Aditya N Prasad had informed it about an enclosed platform (chabutara) constructed around the standing trees in Bhikaji Cama Place Complex by DDA for “beautification” purposes. The court had then ordered DDA to ensure the concrete around the trees is removed immediately.
Prasad had further contended that there are orders of National Green Tribunal that require leaving one metre open space around the trunk of trees and prohibit any construction activity near it.
The court had subsequently ordered MCD, DDA and others to submit a timeframe for removal of concrete around all roadside trees while also seeking affidavits indicating the total number of trees that are surrounded by concrete.