2 PWD officials convicted for failing to stop concretisation of trees in CR Park

New Delhi: The Delhi high court has convicted two Public Works Department (PWD) officers of civil contempt for their failure to stop the concretisation of as well as digging of the area around trees in Chittaranjan Park, saying this was clear evidence of the callous and deliberate disregard of the court’s directions and a concerted effort to damage the ecology of the city.

The court was hearing a contempt petition by the New Delhi Nature Society over the damage caused to trees on Bipin Chandra Pal Marg and nearby areas due to the digging work by BSES Rajhdhani Power Limited for laying cables. The plea claimed that the roots of standing trees had been damaged, especially within a 1m radius of the trunk, which is a violation of the earlier directions of the high court as well as the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Both courts had mandated that a space of 1m be maintained between trees and any construction activity being undertaken by private/government agencies.

The maximum sentence for civil or criminal contempt of court is six months.

In an order dated March 14, which was released on Monday,

Justice Najmi Waziri noted that despite a status quo order issued by him on February 25, 2022, construction and laying of cables/pipes were still continuing at the site, “unmindful” and “in total disregard to any care or concern for the living trees”.

Perusing photographs of the area, Justice Waziri said that since no status quo was maintained at the site and no reply has been filed by PWD officers, they are held guilty of civil contempt and for wilfully disobeying the directions of the court.

“They are held guilty of contempt of court for wilfully disobeying the directions of this court and of the NGT; in particular the R-2 and R-3 have breached this court’s directions as specified in the order dated February 25...,” the court said in a 61-page order.

The court also imposed fines of ₹40,000 and ₹1,00,000 on South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and PWD respectively, noting that about 13 trees had been damaged in an exercise carried out by SDMC and 10 trees were damaged by PWD. It added that there was “unlawful concretisation of the earth around the trees”.

The court asked the city police commissioner to file a report and posted the matter for hearing on April 7.