Fearing ruthless destruction of the city’s green cover at the cost of rapid urbanisation, the Forest Department has refused the construction of 7,000 low cost flats for the Economic Weaker Section (EWS) of the society.
The department has raised objections to the Delhi State Infrastructure Development Corporation’s (DSIDC) proposal to axe 6,000 trees to facilitate construction of these economy flats, under the Rajiv Ratna housing scheme.
According to the department, these full-grown trees are the prime source of oxygen for the north Delhi residents and hence cannot be sacrificed. The two departments are now at loggerheads with each other, as the DSIDC has declined to shift the location for the construction of these flats.
The Rajiv Ratna scheme to provide low-cost housing to EWS was announced eight years back to free the national Capital of the slums and the JJ clusters.
Out of the 60,000 low-cost flats to be constructed in the first phase, 15,000 have already been constructed. Of these, 4,000 flats have been allocated to the poor. For the remaining 7,000 flats, DSIDC has identified a land pocket in Bawana, which has a significant amount of green cover and has over 6,000 trees planted on it.
To execute the construction, the Corporation wants to axe over 6,000 trees for which it has sent a proposal to the forest department, seeking its approval.
The forest department, however, has rejected the proposal on the ground that such mass-scale destruction of north Delhi's green cover cannot be approved in any scenario. According to sources, the department had asked DSIDC to identify another location to carry out the construction of the flats.
“The DSIDC has declined to shift the location in order to avoid inordinate delays caused by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to sanction an alternate land pocket. Even though the DSIDC has assured it will plant an equal number of trees, once the flats are constructed in the area, the forest department has rejected the proposal,” said the source.
He added that with the DSIDC constantly maintaining pressure over the department to grant permission to cut the trees, the forest department officials will reach a decision on the matter after assessing the damage caused by such a scale of deforestation. Till the assessment happens, the fate of construction of 7,000 low cost flats hangs in balance.