Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged on Tuesday that Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) illegally issued instructions to cut down 1,100 trees in the city’s forest area.
Addressing a press conference here, the minister produced a copy of an email in support of his claim that the same was sent by the DDA. He said the LG visited the Satbari forest area on February 3 and gave the instructions to cut the trees.
The AAP leader slammed the Central government and the DDA for misleading the Supreme Court by claiming that the LG had visited a different location on the date in question. “Yesterday, in the Supreme Court, a bench of two judges heard a contempt petition regarding the illegal felling of these 1,100 trees. The DDA tried to fool the apex court by stating that they had court permission to uproot those trees. The Supreme Court rejected this claim,” Bharadwaj added.
The Delhi minister claimed that the DDA officer explicitly mentioned the LG’s order to cut the trees during his visit to the Satbari forest.
This email contradicts the statements made by the DDA in the Supreme Court and exposes a deliberate attempt to deceive the court, the AAP leader claimed.
The Minister accused the DDA and the Forest Department of deliberately violating the law and said no trees can be cut without the Supreme Court’s approval. He noted that officials from both departments had warned against the illegal action, yet the trees were felled based solely on the LG’s verbal order.
He said, “If any RWA cuts trees in its area, the DCF South office imposes a fine of 50,000. Here, 1,100 big trees were cut illegally. Even though all officials and departments are aware of it, no action has been taken against anyone.”
Bhardwaj alleged that everyone in the Forest Department, the DDA, and the LG are involved in this illegal act and together they are working to deceive the people of Delhi, and the country’s highest court.