‘Complete lack of interest’ about Delhi’s green cover: Supreme Court on Forest Department

Supreme Court criticizes Delhi Forest Department for lack of green cover measures, Secretary ordered to explain in affidavit.

The Supreme Court pulled up the Delhi government’s Forest Department for not submitting comprehensive measures taken by it to enhance the green cover of the national capital, saying the attitude shows a “complete lack of interest” and “lacklustre” approach.

A Bench of Justices A.S. Oka ordered the Secretary, Forest Department, Delhi government, to file a personal affidavit to explain why no attempt was made to place on record steps taken to enhance the capital’s greenery for over three months.

The Secretary was directed to appear in person through video conferencing on the next date of hearing on October 18.

On June 26, the Bench had taken serious note of the “illegal and high-handed acts of felling of trees” brought to its notice through a contempt petition filed against the Delhi Development Authority Chairperson.

The contempt case concerned the felling of trees in the protected Delhi Ridge area, in which Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena’s name had cropped up.

Justice Oka had called the felling of the trees in the ridge area a “brazen act”. Justice Oka’s Bench had also raised pointed questions about an attempt made to “cover up” what exactly transpired during the Lieutenant Governor’s visit on February 3 to the construction site of the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS).

The contempt case was eventually transferred to the Chief Justice’s Bench, where it is currently pending.