Delhi High Court Issues Further Directions On Tree Felling, Says Project Proponent Responsible For Maintaining Transplanted Trees For 5 Yrs

The Delhi High Court recently issued various directions to ensure that the standard operating procedure (SOP) on felling or transplantation of trees in the national capital be "implemented in an effective manner to achieve the desired objective".Issuing a slew of directions Justice Jasmeet Singh ordered that the DCF or Tree Officer shall be involved at the very stage of planning of a project which involves felling or transplantation of trees.“Additionally, the compensatory plantation shall ensure that the trees which are to be planted are not less than 6 feet in height, have a nursery life of 5 years and a collar girth of not less than 10 cms,” the Court said. It added that the applicant who moves the application for felling of trees will file an affidavit in the Court undertaking to take care of the compensatory planted trees for a period of 05 years, including watering, maintenance and general upkeep. The Court further directed that the trees sought to be transplanted should not be heavily pruned.Justice Singh directed the concerned authorities or Tree Officer to take into consideration the following factors:- Number of applications made by the proponent for a particular project and total footfall of the project on the environment and not just for the site in question.- Availability of alternative site(s). - Overall impact on green cover of the neighborhood. - Age of trees and ecosystem supported by them. - Possibility of tree(s) surviving transplantation.The Court ordered that the SOP will function in terms of the DPT Act and the post-approval monitoring will be done by the DCF.“This Court is dealing with the rights of the citizens of Delhi and the rights protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India to live in a clean and pollution free environment. Hence, this Court is not considering a policy decision of the respondent, but only an SOP made pursuant to the directions passed by this Court,” the Court said.The order was passed in a contempt plea filed in connection with the orders passed by the court in a matter concerning preservation of trees in the national capital.The contempt plea argued that the officials in the national capital were not following the judicial directions requiring the Tree Officers to spell out reasons for permitting the felling of trees.Recently, Justice Singh had ruled that the permission for felling of 50 or more trees in Delhi will be supervised by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) as per the order of the Supreme Court.It had added that permission for felling of upto 50 trees shall continue till the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is implemented by the city authorities.In December 2024, the Supreme Court directed that whenever Tree Officers grant permission to fell 50 or more trees under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, the permission must be approved by the CEC before it is acted upon.“We therefore direct that whenever permission is granted by the tree officer for felling of 50 or more trees in accordance with Section 8 read with section 9 of 1994 Act the said permission shall not be acted upon unless the same is approved by the CEC…CEC will consider the application and all other aspects thereof and will decide whether the permission deserved to be granted or whether any modification is required in the permission or terms and conditions imposed under the permission”, the Court had directed.Title: BHAVREEN KANDHARI v. SHRI C. D. SINGH AND ORS. Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 709Click here to read order

Delhi High Court Issues Further Directions On Tree Felling, Says Project Proponent Responsible For Maintaining Transplanted Trees For 5 Yrs

Nupur Thapliyal

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