Delhi HC asks DDA to give details of land for developing forest
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the DDA to give details of the land parcel the agency would earmark for developing a 50-acre forest in the national Capital.
Justice Jasmeet Singh asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to file the affidavit in 10 days and said the land selected for the project should be “sustainable”.
The court’s order came while dealing with contempt proceedings against the DDA over cutting down of several trees in the Southern Ridge area without due permission for constructing an approach road near South Asian University in Maidan Garhi here.
The DDA counsel tendered an apology and said although the trees were cut down, there was no “wilful disobedience” as the field staff “misconstrued” a Delhi government notification exempting around 4.9 hectares of the land from taking approval of the tree officer as the final permission for felling.
Urging the court to not proceed further with contempt action, she said a 50-acre land parcel in the Madanpur Khadar area will be earm arked for developing an alternative forest.
Lawyers Gautam Narayan and Aditya N Prasad, appearing as amici curiae to assist the court, said accountability must be fixed on the DDA for admittedly felling trees without permission and those concerned should not go “scot free”.
They also said the land proposed for afforestation fell on the Yamuna riverbed and therefore cannot be used for this purpose. The court asked the DDA to share the details of the land and remarked that “it should be able to withstand the fury of the river”.
“How can it be on river bed? It will all wash away. You have gone on affidavit to say it can’t be used. It should be sustainable,” the judge said.
The amici also said that instead of DDA’s proposal for afforestation at an alternative plot, the agency must be directed to carry out plantation at the spot where the felling took place. The court, however, said it was “not in agreement with plantation on the same road”, saying it will “serve no purpose”.
“Right or wrong, the trees are gone. Restoring status quo ante would take 6-7 years for trees to come up. Today, they are giving land for development of a forest.
