The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday held a protest against the BJP and Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena over the “illegal” felling of about 1,100 trees in the Satbari forest area in the southern Ridge.
Senior AAP leader and Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the trees were cut based on the L-G’s order following his February 3 visit to the area.
From February 16-26, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) cut around 1,100 trees in the southern Ridge without a mandatory go-ahead from the Supreme Court.
The apex court on July 12 asked the DDA to clarify whether it instructed a contractor to fell the trees on its own or on the basis of an oral direction by the L-G, who is also the urban body’s Chairperson.
The court also slammed the Delhi government for exercising its “non-existent powers” by issuing a notification (based on the L-G’s orders) on February 14, allowing the DDA to cut 422 of the 1,100 trees.
Mr. Bharadwaj said land of farmhouses could have been taken to widen the road that now passes through the middle of the Satbari forest to SAARC Chowk instead of denuding the tree cover.
“If they had taken about 5-10% of the land from every farmhouse, then the road could have been widened without harming the trees, but instead of doing this, the trees of the Ridge were cut to benefit the owners of the farmhouses,” the Minister alleged.
When reached for comment, Raj Niwas did not respond.
Published - July 21, 2024 01:20 am IST
