The Delhi High Court recently issued notice to the Government of the NCT of Delhi (GNCTD), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the North Forest Division on a plea seeking a direction to inspect and preserve termite-infested trees instead of felling them in a park situated in H Block, Kirti Nagar in West Delhi.
Justice Subramonium Prasad listed the case next for April 22 and sought a status report from the respondents, the Government of the NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) and the MCD and the North Forest Division before that date.
The petitioner, the President of the H Block Residents Welfare Association, represented by Advocate Gagan Gandhi, said that despite repeated demands for preservation of the trees, the Deputy Conservator of Forests, North Division, had passed an order for felling the trees.
The petition stated termites has caused damage to the tree trunk, which is not only dangerous to the trees but also to people walking on the road and cars parked along the park’s boundary. The petitioner asserted that the order allowing felling of the trees has been passed without inspection and hence is not familiar with the ground reality.
Furthermore, the petition underlined that by allowing cutting down of termite-infested trees, the authority has overlooked Section 7(a) and Section 10 of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, which stated that it is the duty of the tree officer to preserve the environment and trees.
The petition also claimed that the Deputy Conservator of Forest and MCD is unbothered and unfazed by the concerns of the residents, despite repeated demands to preserve the trees. It added that the authorities did not investigate or consider any preventive measures on the matter. It further noted that the MCD did not carry out any inspection even when the park fell in its jurisdiction and has treated the concerns with utmost carelessness and unreasonability.
The petitioner concluded that the plea is necessitated to protect the Right to Life of the members of the society which includes the right to a healthy and clean environment according to Article 21 of the Constitution.
Appearing for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Advocates Ajjay Aroraa and Kapil Dutta argued that the MCD has taken remedial measures to the satisfaction of the society. This claim was refuted by the petitioner’s counsel Advocate Gandhi.