Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has filed an affidavit  in the Supreme Court saying he was unaware of the requirement to take the court’s permission for the felling of trees on the road proposed in the Ridge area, which is part of the Aravalli range, for widening the approach to the under-construction Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS) during his visit to the site on February 3.

Saxena said he came to know in June 2024 about the cutting of 642 trees in February without the court’s nod when it heard a contempt petition against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and directed its vice chairman Subhasish Panda to apprise the LG about it in his capacity as the chairman of the Capital’s land-owning agency. The DDA comes under the Lieutenant Governor.

Saxena called the tree felling an unfortunate event and said there was no act of omission or commission on the part of Panda. He requested Panda be discharged from the contempt proceedings. Saxena said departmental as well as criminal action has been initiated against an executive and two assistant engineers for directing a contractor to fell trees “on their own accord”.

The Lt. Gov said, that on February 3, upon reaching the hospital site and pursuant to a visual inspection, he asked the officers present at the spot to expedite the work towards the completion of the project.

The project related to medical facilities for the paramilitary forces serving the nation and resources to the tune of approximately `2200 crore has already stood invested from the public exchequer.

He further stated upon enquiring about the progress of work, he was informed that permission for felling/translocation of trees is awaited from the competent authority, therefore, the work of felling of trees has not been initiated.

“On this, the Deponent informed that for the trees falling under DPTA (Delhi Preservation of Trees Act), 1994, the Forest Department had already taken approval of the Minister (Environment & Forests) and Chief Minister with my concurring opinion. The Deponent had observed that the concerned officials should expedite the communication of the approval in this regard to the DDA”, said the Lt. Gov’s affidavit.

In the affidavit, he made it clear that his direction, by no stretch of the imagination, was to bypass the mandate of law. The Lt. Gov said he directed the concerned departments to club all the court cases in connection with land acquisition pertaining to the widening of roads for the purpose of defending them in a coordinated manner. He directed shifting on priority BSES electric poles, overhead cables, underground cables etc PNG gas pipelines of IGL which caused hindrances in the widening of the road, and removal of surplus excavated earth which was stacked in the CAPFIMS hospital for filling low-lying areas in the vicinity.

The SC asked Saxena specific questions about his visit to the felling site on February 3, his knowledge about the cutting of trees, and DDA’s subsequent application seeking the court’s permission. Saxena cited DDA records and said 642 trees were felled and not 1,100 as per Kapurea. He added that 174 of the trees were in non-forest area and 468 on forest land.