Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: National Green Tribunal has asked the forest department to take appropriate action on a complaint related to the illegal felling of trees in Ibrahimpur village in north-east Delhi.
The plea was filed by a resident, who claimed that in Khasra numbers 131 and 132 of Ibrahimpur village, trees were illegally felled in a nursery, violating the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, and other environmental norms.
The plea claimed that though the applicant lodged a complaint with the forest department on Feb 13 this year, no action has been taken.
The tribunal observed that when a complaint is made by the applicant regarding the illegal felling of trees, a spot inspection is required, and the truthfulness of the allegation needs to be ascertained. If the allegation is found to be correct, appropriate remedial and punitive action is required, NGT said.
“We direct the principal chief conservator of forests to consider the complaint of the applicant dated Feb 13, ascertain the correct factual position, and take appropriate action, keeping in view the observations made above, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of two months,” said the bench headed by Justice Prakash Shrivastava in an order dated April 7.
The NGT said the applicant has not enclosed any prima facie material indicating the felling of trees. However, the counsel for the applicant told the tribunal that since there is a boundary wall surrounding the nursery, he could not collect the material.
Mayank Rawat
