'Will hold officers concerned guilty of contempt with respect to trees'

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday expressed its anguish over the damage caused to vegetation in the heart of the national capital during the recent thunderstorm, saying that several trees succumbed to the strong winds on account of the callousness of the city authorities.

Justice Najmi Waziri, while dealing with contempt cases concerning the preservation of trees in Mira Marg and Vikas Marg areas, observed that the roots of the trees had weakened owing to the roads or concretisation of the earth around it and callousness in their care and upkeep.

"We can't have this going on after what Delhi has witnessed in the last three days. Who is responsible for that? The officers. It is because of their callousness that the city has lost hundreds of trees in the heart of the city, where people are living. These trees are 40-30 years, and 50 years old. What is happening? PWD came and encroached up to the neck of these trees. There was space to breathe, no air to go in, no water going in. The roots had become dried up. Everything toppled over in one storm," the court said.

The judge remarked that the "city is suffering because an officer is doing his work like this" and that he "will hold" the officers concerned in the present proceedings guilty of contempt.

The court noted that in another case, it has already held two officers of PWD guilty of contempt of court for willfully disobeying and breaching the court's directions with respect to trees.