New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has told the Supreme Court he was not aware that the court's permission was needed for the felling of 600 trees in the capital's Ridge area, which is an extension of the Aravallis. His submission came in a personal affidavit ahead of Wednesday's hearing.
The court had asked Mr Saxena, who is also the chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), to submit a personal affidavit with the details of his visit to the area on February 3 and explaining what steps were being taken to fix responsibility.
The Lieutenant Governor was also told to specify if there was any discussion about permission for cutting trees and when he came to know about the requirement of court permission.
Read | "File Personal Affidavit In Ridge Tree-Cutting Case": Supreme Court To Delhi Lt Governor
Mr Saxena said in his affidavit he had visited the Ridge area where a medical facility is set to come up for the CAPF, on February 3. During this visit, he took into account the importance and necessity of the project as well as the resources already invested in it.
While returning, he stopped at the site of road widening, but no one present at the site brought to his notice that the court's permission was needed to fell trees there, the affidavit read.
The Lieutenant Governor said he was made aware about it only on March 21 after an application was filed by DDA seeking permission for the felling of trees for the project.
"As regards the fact that the actual act of felling of trees had commenced on or about 16.02.2024 was brought to the notice of the undersigned vide letter of Vice Chairman, DDA dated 10.06.2024," the Lieutenant Governor said.
The affidavit identified the officers responsible for the tree felling as Manoj Kumar Yadav, the DDA executive engineer who had given the instructions to cut the trees to the contractor, and Pawan Kumar and Ayush Saraswat, both from the engineering division of the DDA, who were responsible for permitting the act.
The Lieutenant Governor named Pankaj Verma, Superintending Engineer, and Mr Yadav as the officials responsible for suppressing facts from the court.
The Supreme Court is hearing a contempt case against some DDA and Delhi government officials over the axing of trees. It had said that if the chairperson agrees, criminal action must be taken against the officers responsible for the tree cutting.