NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has held two senior officers of PWD guilty of contempt of court for willfully disobeying and breaching its directions in a case about the chopping of trees in South Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park and observed that the imperative of protecting trees can never be overlooked as the city has witnessed the worst period of air pollution in the past four-five years.
The court also imposed a cost of Rs 40,000 and Rs 1 lakh on South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and Public Works Department respectively as it was found during the inspection that 13 trees had been damaged in an exercise carried out by SDMC and 10 trees were damaged by PWD and that there was also unlawful concretisation of the earth around the trees.
“The court is also informed that a stretch of a road is dug up by one agency and no sooner before the work ordinarily is completed by that agency, that another agency comes along and digs up the same road yet again. This cycle continues year-round, be it for the work of laying down internet cables, electricity lines, water pipes, telephone cables, etc,” Justice Najmi Waziri said in a 61-page order.
The matter is listed on Thursday for orders on the sentencing of the two PWD officers for the offence of contempt of court.