HC asks CAG to conduct audit for felled trees

The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to conduct an audit into number of trees felled here for various projects and disposal of timber.

A division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar asked the CAG to file a report on the amount and timber received by various agencies from felling of trees since 2010.

The CAG will audit the national capital's three municipal corporations, New Delhi Municipal Council, Cantonment Board, Delhi Metro, Northern Railway, and the Public Works Department.

The court was hearing the issue of depleting forest cover in Delhi leading to increased air pollution.

"When trees are felled in large numbers by agencies for developmental and commercial projects, timber is available to them in large quantities. The question that arises is -- what happens to the timber? We have to check the trail of timber and the trail of money," the court said.

--IANS

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