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Delhi

Vikas Marg streetscaping: After forest dept flags tree damage, court steps in

New Delhi: After the Forest Department of the Delhi government took issue with the damage of trees being caused on the ambitious streetscaping project along Vikas Marg, now a part of the project near Laxmi Nagar has run into a court hurdle after a resident alleged that the work was damaging a lot of trees in the area.

While the court has stayed this part of the project, other parts' work was underway as of early February even as PWD officials have said that

they are trying their best to avoid damage to trees, transplanting them wherever possible and planting 10 for each tree being uprooted.

According to an inspection report of the Forest Department, the streetscaping project along Vikas Marg had damaged 80 trees last year, with forest officials saying that the PWD had violated "restraining orders" twice during trenching work, according to reports.

While in October last year, the PWD had submitted a report to the forest department saying it was taking several measures to take care of the trees, following a restraining order, after which the forest department found that the PWD had gone ahead to cut three more trees.

The construction and civil work on the 2.7kilometre stretch on Vikas Marg from Mother Dairy to Nirwana Road was stopped after complaints showed that several trees were damaged in the process. The court had stayed the work on this stretch while hearing a plea by a resident alleging damage of trees.

Moreover, the forest department has consistently been asking the PWD to ensure that trees are not damaged and even after officials said restraining orders were not followed twice, the forest department had summoned the senior engineer to explain why the PWD had not followed their directions.

This was after the high court had allowed the tree officer to proceed with the appropriate action.

PWD officials have said that the part of the project that was stayed is one of the most congested, poorly designed and broken with hardly any space for pedestrians, explaining the importance of streetscaping the area. They added that the work was to redevelop the entire stretch from pavement to the drains and sewer network.

But they also acknowledged that this work does damage some trees and some others are transplanted and that the agency (PWD) was doing everything possible to provide better roads for the public. They also said that the work was supposed to solve waterlogging issues in the area.

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