NBCC agrees in HC not to cut trees in south Delhi till July 4

The National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) today agreed in the Delhi High Court not to cut trees till July 4 to re-develop six south Delhi colonies.

NBCC made the statement after a vacation bench of the high court comprising Justices Vinod Goel and Rekha Palli said that it will impose an interim stay on tree felling.

On June 22, the high court had declined to put on hold the felling of trees sanctioned by the Centre in connection with the re-development of six south Delhi colonies by the NBCC and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).

The PIL, filed by an orthopaedic surgeon, has sought setting aside of the terms of reference (ToR) and the environment clearances (EC) granted to the project by the Environment Ministry, saying it would lead to felling of over 16,500 trees.

The six south Delhi colonies where the trees would be felled are Sarojini Nagar, Naoroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Thyagaraja Nagar, Mohammadpur and Kasturba Nagar, the petition said.