Give action plan to remove forest encroachment: HC to govt

Alarmed over "large extents" of notified forest areas being encroached upon, the Delhi High Court today directed the AAP government to formulate an action plan to preserve reserved and protected forests in the city.
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva directed the Delhi government to call a meeting of all agencies concerned for making the action plan and to place it before the court within four weeks.
The direction was issued after the forest department informed the court that there were encroachments in all the notified forest areas, being maintained by different authorities including the Army and DDA.

The court, thereafter, observed that if the green cover given on paper was different from the ground reality, then "we are fooling ourselves".
It also said that those portions of the forest areas which have survived encroachment should be protected.
Referring to pictures of forest areas placed before it, the court said they "indicate that large extents of notified forest areas has been encroached upon. This is an alarming situation that needs to be addressed".

"For this purpose, we directed the Delhi government to call a meeting of all concerned authorities within a week for purposes of formulating an action plan with regard to preserving the reserved and protected forests in the national capital.

"Furthermore, the action plan should also indicate how the forest areas encroached upon can be restored as before," the court said and added that the action plan be placed before it within four weeks.
The court in its order also directed the Engineer in Chiefs of the three MCDs, New Delhi Municipal Council, Public Works Department, and Cantonment Board, to immediately survey roads under their respective jurisdiction and to ensure all debris were removed from roadsides.
The civic bodies were directed to file status reports showing they have complied with the direction and the matter was listed for hearing on October 14.

The direction was issued by the court as it was of the view that debris lying on the roads after development or construction works contributed to generating particulate matter which was a major cause of air pollution.