The work on the redevelopment of AIIMS is expected to start by the end of this year, after permission for cutting trees is granted by the city government's forest department.

Expressing "displeasure" at the "inordinate" delay in getting the permission for cutting trees that could affect the project, Delhi LG V K Saxena said he would take up the matter with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to ensure its early resolution, according to the statement.

The LG chaired the fourth meeting of the Apex Committee constituted to facilitate approvals for the implementation of Master Plan of Redevelopment of the AIIMS into a World Class Medical University, as approved by the Union Cabinet.

During the review, officials informed Saxena that 18 out of the 20 statutory approvals from multiple agencies were already in place and only two of them were pending.

The only major pending approval was that of tree cutting permission by Delhi government's Department of Forest and Environment.

Saxena was told that this approval was pending for about a month-and-a-half despite 26 hectares of land in Aaya Nagar and 6 hectare of land in Sultanpur having been identified for compensatory afforestation and tree transplantation, it said. 

 As for the other pending matter of five land parcels to a single land parcel being allotted to a single lessee by L&DO, it was informed that the same was a procedural issue which will get completed within a few days, it said .

 It is expected that with the approvals in place, work on the redevelopment project will start in the right earnest by the end of this year, the statement said.