Wasn’t aware of need for SC permission for felling trees in Delhi Ridge: LG

On October 24, 2024, the Supreme Court directed Subashish Panda, the former vice-chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the current chairperson of the DDA to submit affidavits. The court sought to determine the exact date when both officials became aware of the tree felling in the Delhi Ridge.

The court further ordered that all original records be presented and set a deadline of November 4, 2024 for filing the affidavits. Additionally, the Forest Survey of India was instructed to submit its report within a week. The next hearing is scheduled for November 5, 2024.

In an affidavit dated October 22, 2024, DDA chairperson Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena stated that the DDA became aware on March 31, 2024, that permission from the Supreme Court was required for tree felling.

Following this, the DDA submitted a proposal to constitute a committee of experts, in line with the court’s directions, seeking permission for tree felling as part of the project.

The DDA vice-chairperson notified the chairperson on June 10, 2024, that the actual tree felling had started around February 16, 2024, in compliance with court orders. The apex court stated that the affidavit mentioned this.

The letter of the vice-chairperson indicated that the felling of trees commenced on February 16, 2024 "onwards for about 10 days". The letter also indicated that the proposal for constituting a committee of experts was received from the office of the chairperson duly approved on April 12, 2024.

The vice-chairperson stated that at that stage he had already brought to the notice of the Chairperson, “the blunder of felling of trees” which was committed by the officers of DDA.

On February 6, 2024, the executive engineer SMD-5, DDA addressed a letter to the contractor expressly stating that the trees which were present in the Right of Way (ROW) may not be felled till the permission is granted and the work shall be taken up at those locations which are free from any hindrance. The letter further stated that the approval for tree felling should be conveyed in due time after approvals were received.

Despite this, it now appears clear that felling of trees commenced on or about February 16, 2024. If this be the position, "the primary question which has to arise is who sanctioned the felling of trees", the SC asked.

Prima facie, it appears that on April 12, 2024 the LG had seen the proposal of the DDA and "desired that exercise of alternate alignment of referred roads be completed in a time bound manner", the SC noted.

The matter related to felling of 1,100 trees in Delhi Ridge for road widening. The actual act of felling of the trees had commenced on February 16, 2024 before the application for permission was moved before the Supreme Court and which was eventually dismissed on March 4, 2024.

Sewage treatment plants in Delhi

As many as 32 new sewage treatment plants (STP) (now being referred to as decentralised sewage treatment plants or DSTPs) were to be installed for treating the sewage generated from the unserved areas of Delhi, where STPs / DSTPs do not exist, stated the affidavit filed by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) October 18, 2024. DJB was citing data from the Sewerage Master Plan (SMP) 2031.

Out of the 32 locations, one STP / DSTP at Sonia Vihar has been constructed and is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of October 2024. Around 600 million gallons of sewage is presently being treated per day, out of which 245 million gallons per day (MGD) is being put back in River Yamuna and around 120 MGD of treated effluent is being utilised for agriculture, horticulture and other purposes.

The technology of the old plants is being upgraded to achieve the 10:10 parameters. To date, plants with a capacity of 479 MGD have been upgraded on 10:10 parameters and the rest are also being upgraded on 10:10 parameters, which are likely to be achieved by December 2025 in a phased manner.

With respect to the status of drains in 58 jhuggi-jhopri clusters, out of 639 JJC drains, 581 have already been trapped, stated the DJB report.

Simply Put: A tale of 2 sceptres