NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea seeking a direction to restrain the Delhi government from allowing the felling of trees in the national capital without the apex court’s permission.
The application, which stated that five trees are felled in Delhi every hour, also sought to restrain the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from cutting down trees in Delhi forests without the top court’s nod.
The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices A S Oka and A G Masih on Friday. The court asked the city government and others to respond to the application by November 22.
The application has also sought the constitution of an expert committee, headed by a retired judge of the SC or the Delhi High Court, to assess the tree protection regimen in the national capital.
A report containing its recommendation for the protection and preservation of existing trees and forests in Delhi should be submitted by the committee before the apex court, it said.
The application referred to a February 2023 order of the High Court and said it was recorded that five trees were felled every hour in the city, based on the data provided by Delhi Forest Department. It sought to restrain the government from allowing felling of trees in the national capital without the apex court’s permission.