SC SEEKS TO CHECK IF PANEL TOOK CARE BEFORE NOD FOR REMOVAL OF TREES

Every tree should be protected in some way, the Supreme Court has emphasised, seeking to examine whether the court-appointed central empowered committee (CEC) has taken the utmost care before permitting the removal of trees in the national capital for construction work or other projects.

Expressing concerns over “mechanical” approvals of felling of trees that in some cases, a bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said that it would wish to ascertain the process followed by CEC while reviewing the applications to cut trees.

“Attempts should be made to protect every single tree. Whenever trees are to be felled for public purposes, they (CEC) must scrutinise whether trees are required to be felled or not. Then, the other exercise to follow is about the kind of saplings that should be planted...But there are no guidelines we see here,” remarked the bench earlier this week.

Underscoring the importance of tree protection measures, the court highlighted the need for thorough scrutiny by CEC, including the issues of translocation of trees and compensatory afforestation, before granting permission to remove trees.

“There are several aspects that must be taken care of...there cannot be mechanical approach when applications for the felling of trees are examined,” the bench told additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, who represented the Union government in the matter.

Bhati, on her part, informed the court that some of the issues, including the composition of CEC, were already being dealt with by another bench in the Supreme Court in separate proceedings.

In response, the bench expressed a willingness to focus on ensuring the proper functioning of CEC rather than delving into its composition. “We don’t wish to go into the constitution of CEC if that is already pending before the other bench. But we want to make sure that they (CEC) do their job properly,” it said.