The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the state authorities to file a compliance report regarding the compensatory plantation of trees near a DLF project in Gurugram. The direction comes six months after the court asked officials to supervise the condition that 10 times the number of trees felled must be planted as compensation.
The Directive
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The Order: A Bench led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu directed the Additional Advocate-General to file a report from the Conservator of Forests of the area.
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Scope: The report must verify the status of the compensatory plantation in terms of the permission originally granted to fell the trees.
Arguments & Claims
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State’s Submission: The State counsel informed the court that while 2,000 trees were cut, a total of 30,000 trees have been planted in compliance with the norms (which required planting 20,000).
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Counter-Allegation: The applicant, Sarvadaman Singh Oberoi, alleged that the new trees were planted by “cutting another forest” of 160 acres. He has filed a criminal case regarding this matter.
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Court’s Observation: The Bench noted that the application seeking revival of the case did not contain specific averments regarding non-compliance. “Not even a word to say that the condition imposed by the State… has not been met,” the court observed.
Background The High Court had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of a news report alleging the felling of nearly 2,000 trees for a real estate project. The case was initially closed after it was informed that the trees were not in the protected Aravalli region, but the court had insisted on strict adherence to the compensatory planting condition.
