Delhi HC orders MCD, DDA to de-concretise roadside trees

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court (HC) has ordered authorities in the national capital, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA), to tell a time frame to the court within which they will remove the concrete around all roadside trees.

Justice Jasmeet Singh has asked the authorities to submit affidavits containing all the necessary information, including the number of trees around which concrete has already been removed, and their de-concretisation shall be verified. The affidavit should also include the location of trees. High Court said, “The affidavit will also indicate why the balance number of trees have not been de-concretised and the time frame within which the same shall be done.” 

The directives of the court came while hearing a contempt petition filed through a lawyer, Aditya N Prasad, which said that there are hundreds of trees in South Delhi and Vasant Vihar area which have been concretised and sought their preservation. The petitioner contends that the authorities are violating the orders passed by the apex court in Delhi and the National Green Tribunal.

Counsel speaking for the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) informed the court that they have removed the concrete from around trees in all residential colonies of Delhi.

A couple of years back, in 2021, the High Court observed that photographs of the Vasant Vihar area show that hundreds of trees have been concretised right upto their trunks, depicting their victimisation.