The department was also directed to consider relocation of the trees instead of felling them.
The Delhi High Court has told the city government to carry out compensatory plantation before any trees are felled for building a three-lane flyover parallel to the single-lane flyover on Rao Tula Ram (RTR) Marg on the outer ring road.
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva issued the direction to Delhi government's forest department which was also told that the compensatory plantation should have a link with the area from where the trees are felled.
The department was also directed to consider relocation of the trees instead of felling them.
The court, meanwhile, sought the presence of the Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary of the Delhi government to explain the suspension of construction of an underpass connecting Benito Juarez Marg and San Martin Marg Road.
The underpass was to be constructed along with the flyover project in order to provide another route for traffic from the Outer Ring Road to cross the inner Ring Road and thus reduce the burden on other roads connecting RTR Marg with Ring Road.
On the issue of reducing the burden on RTR, the court directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to take appropriate steps to make the alternative road towards Mahipalpur functional.
The directions came on a plea by the residents welfare associations of Vasant Vihar challenging PWD's decision to build a three-lane flyover parallel to the single-lane flyover on RTR Marg.
On October 28 last year, the court had said that "the alternative measures discussed for de-congesting the traffic to and from the airport, particularly, at the T-junction joining Nelson Mandela Marg and Outer Ring Road as also the entry point after Ryan International School from Mehrauli-Mahipalpur Road to the DDA road shall be made operational within two weeks."
It had also said the authorities shall endeavour to make operational every route they intend to use during diversion of traffic while building the flyover.
Vasant Vihar residents associations have sought that a six-lane flyover be built in the same location by demolishing the existing one while PWD intends to build a three-lane elevated road from Munirka to Signals Enclave, which will also run parallel to the RTR Marg flyover.