No more trees to be cut in the capital till July 4th, Says Delhi High Court

After the decision of cutting 17,000 trees, Delhiites carried a moment to save their precious trees ‘chipku Movement ‘ which got huge support from the residents and also from Aam Aadami Party, Now the Delhi High Court intervenes in the decision.

On June 24^th “Delhi Trees SOS‘ carried a protest today at Sarojini Nagar. Termed as ‘Chipku Movement ‘several environmental organisations are coming together to “hug the trees” and “let the government know they will not be allowed to cut the trees down so easily.”

Today the Delhi High Court heard the petition which was submitted my KK Mishra.

Delhi High Court today. “Has the tree-cutting been approved by the green tribunal,” the court questioned as it put off the project till July 4, the next hearing.

Cutting trees to make way for roads is justified, the court noted. “You want to cut thousands of trees for housing. Can Delhi afford this?” the judge asked the government-run National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), which is overseeing the project.

(Also Read: Delhi responds with a protest; Row over cutting 16,500 trees).

The petitioner, KK Mishra, has asked the court to stop the central government project to cut thousands of trees for what it calls “redevelopment” of seven colonies in south Delhi. “More than 20,000 trees will be cut in the main south Delhi area. A CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) report states there is a deficit of nine lakh trees in Delhi. I hope the court will put a stay on the order,” the petitioner told reporters.

The plan has provoked huge protests in Delhi, with residents rubbishing the government’s assurance that an equal number of saplings will be planted to make up for the loss.

Saplings argue environmentalists, cannot replace fully grown trees for years in Delhi, which is among the most-polluted cities in the world.