Delhi HC Directs Planting of 10,000 Trees With Rs 70 Lakh Deposited By Defaulting Litigants

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court directed that 10,000 trees should be planted across the national Capital by using the fund of over Rs 70 lakh deposited as costs in several matters by defaulting litigants.

Air pollution has become a major health hazard in the country’s capital city and this should be come as a welcome development for its residents.

The Delhi HC had observed this in an order issued on May 29, as apparent in a copy of the order made available on Monday, saying that trees would help in providing immeasurable benefit to generations of Delhi residents by making available fresh oxygen which would serve to absorb atmospheric pollution which has been plaguing the city round the year.

Declaring this, Justice Najmi Waziri said amounts of money that are deposited in court should be utilised in the interest of the larger public good. The judge appointed four lawyers as court commissioners for identification of the sites for the tree-planting drive, with preference given to public roads.

The HC judge said that about Rs 80 lakh was deposited in the court by defaulting litigants as costs which had been imposed in numerous contempt petitions as well as writ petitions. “These monies are to be utilised for larger public good,” the court said.

It was observed by the high court that trees would continuously and silently give several benefits to the city and future generations of its residents for the life period of the trees.

The court also issued a clarification that the agency owning the land has to plant the trees under the supervision of the concerned Tree Officer or deputy conservator of forests (DCF) and file reports before the court.

Moreover, the court directed that an amount of over Rs 70 lakh is to be transferred over to the bank accounts of the DCF, GNCTD. It said that the the DCF should be allowed to utilise said amount, with assistance provided by agencies like PWD, GNCTD, to plant trees in the particular areas as are identified by Shadan Farasat, Avishkar Singhvi, Tushar Sannu, Aditya N Prasad, the court commissioners appointed.

“They shall each have at least 2,500 trees planted. They are hereby appointed as Court Commissioners,” said the court in a recent order.

Providing further directions, the court mentioned that each tree should have an age of minimum three-years in a nursery and with a minimum trunk height of 10 feet.

A minimum number of 10,000 trees are to be planted by using the Rs 70 lakh, it was said.

“Let it be so done... The sites for plantation, preferably public roads, shall be identified by the learned court commissioners,” the court directed.

After considering the soil type and topography, the DCF has been asked to plant pilkhan, papdi, kachnaar, goolar, kala siris/safed siris, jamun, amaltas, kadamb and badh trees, the court added.

The court further advised that the community should be encouraged to participate in the plantation and maintenance of the trees and sought a status report every six months on the drive from the DCF.

The matter is to be next heard on July 7.

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