AAP, BJP clash over ‘illegal tree felling’ in Satbari |

New Delhi: The issue of alleged illegal felling of 1,100 trees in South Delhi’s Satbari by DDA At the beginning of the year, an issue was also raised in the Delhi Assembly, AAP The parliamentarians accused the state government of unilaterally cutting salaries, while the BJP accused the Delhi government of complicity.
During a debate in the House, AAP MPs said that the trees were felled on the verbal instructions of the LG and the necessary permission was not obtained from the Supreme Court. AAP MPs also alleged that the route of a road was deliberately changed to favour some farm houses, thus enabling the felling of 1,100 mature trees.
Speaking on the issue, Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that permission to cut the trees was sought from the Supreme Court only after they were cut. He also claimed that the trees were cut on the “verbal instructions” of the Supreme Court, despite the suspension of junior officials of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for the same. The trees were not cut to widen the road but to save the land of farmhouses in the area, Bharadwaj said.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition in Parliament Vijender Gupta had alleged that a number of trees were felled for the construction of the Prime Minister’s official residence. He alleged that despite the NGT order, the mandatory plantation of saplings was also not carried out.
On the issue of felling of trees in the hill range, Gupta said the file was being processed by Environment Minister Gopal Rai. He claimed that it was forwarded to LG VK Saxena by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, stating that he was bound by the Council of Ministers’ help and advice in the matter.
“The trees were felled to widen the approach road to the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS)… The permission to fell the trees was given by former chief minister Kejriwal,” Gupta alleged, adding that the AAP was wrongly blaming the LG. Bharadwaj, however, asked Gupta why this information was not shared with the Supreme Court.
Replying to the debate, Rai claimed that the Delhi government had not given permission to cut trees in the ridge. “To cut trees in the ridge, the Supreme Court’s permission was required, but it was not obtained,” he said. The Delhi Environment Minister added that the file referred to by Gupta pertains to 422 trees located outside the ridge. “To cut these trees too, the permission of the Tree Conservation Officer was required. But that too was not obtained,” Rai said.
He said the AAP government had planted millions of trees and increased the city’s green cover from 20 to 23 percent, thereby reducing pollution by 34.6 percent in the last decade.