SC questions process to allow tree-felling in city

The Supreme Court on Friday asked what checks and balances are in place before permission is given to chop trees in the Capital, as it set out to examine the functioning of the Delhi Tree Authority (DTA) and tree officers.

- Abraham Thomas

The court was considering an application filed by Delhi resident Bhavreen Kandhari, who stated that DTA—a statutory body created in July 1995 to preserve the city's trees—has given permission to fell over 60,000 trees between 2015 and 2021, with no mechanism to ensure their preservation. She further noted that five trees are being cut in Delhi every hour.

A bench headed by Justice Abhay S Oka said, "We want to know whether the four tree officers and the tree authorities constituted under the Delhi Tree Preservation Act (DTPA), 1994 have any kind of checks and balances and what procedure they follow in granting permission."

The court posted the matter for further hearing on November 22 requiring specific responses from the four tree officers and the tree authority under the Act. The court also issued notice to the Delhi forest department.