NEW DELHI: Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday alleged that Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena and his officials were responsible for the “unauthorised” felling of trees in the protected Ridge area.
Around 1,100 trees were allegedly hacked without the requisite sanctions at the Ridge area in south Delhi’s Mehrauli to widen a 2.3-km stretch of the Chattarpur Satbari-Gaushala road. The trees were axed despite the matter being in the Supreme Court.
At a press conference on Sunday, citing affidavits submitted before the top court, the minister alleged that the L-G and senior officials were either complicit in or willfully ignorant of their illegal actions.
“The Supreme Court has been hearing a case regarding the illegal felling of about 1,100 trees in the Satbari Ridge area of Delhi without permission. The L-G had visited the tree felling site on February 3. When the apex court asked about this, it was misled by saying that the L-G had not visited the area in question, but a hospital,” the minister said.
Bharadwaj claimed that the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Sunil Bakshi, in his affidavit to the top court, stated that the L-G visited the site and directed the officials to expedite the work. “DDA member engineering Ashok Kumar Gupta has also written in his affidavit that on March 3, the L-G, after completing his visit to the Central Armed Police Force Institute of Medical Science Hospital, made a stop-over to the site where he reviewed the progress of the road work,” the minister added.
Taking a jibe at the L-G, Bharadwaj said if L-G Saxena thinks he is innocent in the matter, he should hold a press conference to clear the air around the issues. The minister also attacked the bureaucrats, alleging they “don’t dare to question the L-G.”
Bharadwaj said, “This highlights the weakness of bureaucrats as no one dared to tell the L-G that the directive for tree felling is illegal.”
The top court, which is hearing the matter, rapped the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the AAP-led Delhi government and the contractor for “not apprising” the L-G about the requirements for felling of trees. “It appears that no one – including the contractor, Delhi government and DDA – told the L-G that permission of the Supreme Court needs to be obtained before cutting the trees,” it said.