The National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) on Monday agreed in the Delhi High Court to not cut trees till July 4 to redevelop six south Delhi colonies.
NBCC made the statement after a vacation bench of the HC comprising Justice Vinod Goel and Justice Rekha Palli said it would impose an interim stay on tree felling.
The PIL, filed by an orthopaedic surgeon, has sought setting aside of the terms of reference (ToR) and the environment clearances (EC) granted to the project by the Ministry of Environment, saying it would lead to felling of over 16,500 trees.
The six south Delhi colonies where the trees would be felled are Sarojini Nagar, Naoroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Thyagaraja Nagar, Mohammadpur and Kasturba Nagar, according to the petition.
The High Court put on hold the controversial mega project that requires felling of 17,000 trees in Delhi, asking if the green court had allowed this to happen.
“Has the green court allowed this tree-cutting?” the court questioned, according to a report in NDTV.
The next hearing in the case is on July 4.
On June 22, the HC had initially declined to put on hold the felling of trees sanctioned by the Centre in connection with the re-development of six south Delhi colonies by the NBCC and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).
(With agency inputs)