At NCERT Campus, five trees cut sans permission
33 trees also pruned without permission, says Forest Department
NEW DELHI: As many as five trees were cut and 33 heavily pruned inside the NCERT Campus on Sri Aurobindo Road without permission from the Delhi Forest Department, an official said on Thursday.
Acting on a complaint from an NGO, a team of forest rangers visited the campus on Wednesday and found that five trees were cut and 33 were heavily pruned, the forest department official said.
Permission from authorities is mandatory for cutting and even pruning of trees under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, the official sadi, adding that the NCERT Campus had applied for permission to cut and prune trees, but before the Forest Department could take a look into the application, the action had been taken.
A report was submitted on Wednesday by the forest rangers who visited the spot and a decision on further action would be soon taken, the official said.
According to the complainant Verhaen Khanna, from New Delhi Nature Society (NDNS), more trees have been pruned than recorded by the forest department.
“A whole row of trees along the fence were heavily pruned and there were eucalyptus and semal trees among the ones that were chopped,” he said.
A mass movement was organised against tree felling by various NGOS and citizens in Delhi, after it was reported that over 16,000 trees would be chopped off for a redevelopment project in south Delhi.
The National Green Tribunal, on Wednesday, had deferred hearing on the matter related to the felling of trees in south Delhi for redevelopment of colonies.
Stating that the tribunal will refrain from dealing with the matter as it is pending at the Delhi High Court, the NGT Bench, headed by chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel, said, “Simultaneous consideration of the same issue at different legal forum is not appropriate. Accordingly, we defer the proceedings.”
The orders came while the panel was hearing pleas moved by three different petitioners, who had sought a stay on the proposed felling of more than 16,000 trees.