new delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a panel and directed it to submit a factual report regarding the alleged illegal felling of trees in South Delhi's Chhatarpur.
The green body was hearing a plea claiming illegal tree cutting across several khasra numbers in Chhatarpur's Ambedkar Colony. It said that a private individual cut the trees at night, violating the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act.
In an order dated January 30, a bench comprising NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel said that according to the plea, a complaint was made to the forest range officer, following which a restraining order was passed in October last year but illegal felling of trees continued.
"To ascertain the correct position at the ground level, we deem it proper to appoint a joint committee comprising the Divisional Forest Officer( DFO) South, representative of the Lucknow regional office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the district magistrate of South Delhi, who will act as a nodal agency," the tribunal said.The tribunal directed a joint committee to inspect the site, assess illegal tree felling and identify responsibility, seek responses from authorities, and submit a factual report with recommendations within six weeks. The case will be heard next on April 6.