MCD fined

New Delhi
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was penalised ₹80,000 and issued a show cause notice over concretised and missing trees in southeast Delhi, according to a submission made by the forest and wildlife department to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The action comes following a complaint filed by a resident in the tribunal in April this year, according to which nine trees were heavily concretised in Jangpura and Nizamuddin, but agencies were failing to act on it.
To be sure, constructions, such as footpaths, around trees necessitate agencies to leave a one-metre space around the tree trunk, failing which they are categorised as concretised trees.
“It was found that eight trees were concretised within a one-metre radius around its tree trunk, which is a violation of the directions of the NGT. Further, it is to submit that out of the nine trees, one tree was found missing,” said the report submitted by the deputy conservator of forest (DCF), South, Vipul Pandey, on June 27 following an inspection in May.
In the show cause notice, MCD was asked to furnish details about the missing tree to ascertain if it was felled illegally. ₹10,000 fine was levied for each concretised tree, according to the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994.
“Furthermore, after no action of the landowning agency, the forest department has completed deconcretisation work on its own,” the report said.
Trees across the city are numbered to help agencies identify action, pruning or treatment of a particular tree. The numbers also help identify a tree that has been felled illegally.
Experts said not only are trees not deconcretised regularly, but there are no drives to check for missing trees or their health either.
Verhaen Khanna, founder of New Delhi Nature Society (NDNS), said despite clear rules mandating a one-metre radius to be left around trees, no agency is willing to follow the rule. “The forest department has the power to deconcretise trees on its own and fine agencies that are not following these rules. Sadly, neither the forest department does that, nor does any urban local body or civic agency,” Khanna said.
He said that last month, he shared a report with the MCD, detailing 118 trees that were concretised in New Friends Colony’s A, B and C blocks. “Even now, nothing has been done,” he said.
MCD did not respond to requests for comment.