New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI)The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted an opportunity to three PWD officials to plant over 800 trees in the city to mitigate their “wrongdoing” concerning a contempt case against them and kept in abeyance its order sending them to jail for committing contempt of court.
Justice Najmi Waziri said that in view of the assurance given by the officials — who were held guilty of contempt of court earlier this year for violating judicial orders on the protection of trees, the two-month imprisonment awarded to two of them and four-month imprisonment to the other official shall not come into operation till the next date of hearing.
“We are only keeping it in abeyance in view of the compensatory tree plantation to be carried out by the contemnors,” said the judge who noted that the policy mandates the “ratio of one is to ten” in case of compensatory afforestation which has to be carried out near the affected spot and not in an area at the borders of the city.
Justice Waziri on June 3 held the three officials PWD officials as well as a Delhi police official guilty of contempt of court on account of the extensive damage caused to the trees at Vikas Marg by the ongoing civil works by PWD.
The court, on a contempt petition by Neeraj Sharma, had held that the conduct of the officials was in breach of the judicial orders concerning the preservation and protection of trees. The petitioner was represented by lawyer Aditya N Prasad.
“(Lawyers) for respondents 1, 2, and 3 (PWD officials) state on instructions that to mitigate their wrongdoing, the said respondents volunteer to undertake to plant 830 trees in and around the Supreme Court as well as along the stretch of Mathura Road, starting from the Supreme Court, and such other areas in central and east Delhi as may be identified by the Forest Department,” the court recorded.
“At request, it is only in view of the assurance to mitigate to some extent the damage caused by contemnors that the order of sentence is kept in abeyance till the next date,” it said.
The court said that the officials should start with 300 trees, 100 of which should be planted in an area opposite the Supreme Court and the area mentioned in the other shall be visited by the concerned authorities, including a senior official of the Forest Department, and parties for identification of spots for plantation.
“Earth will be prepared and small and big trees will be planted by July 20. Assistance and advice of the Deputy Conservator of Forest concerned will be sought,” the court said as it called upon the officials to procure the plants within a week.
The court clarified that the voluntary exercise by the officials will have no bearing on the Tree Officer imposing fines or other conditions under the law.
In December last year, the court had noted the “glaring victimisation of trees on account of construction work” in the case and asked the PWD officials to show cause as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
In its order passed on December 3, 2021, the court had said that prima-facie, the officials had committed contempt of court and there was nothing on the record to show that any permission was taken from the Tree Officer with respect to the protection of the trees in terms of the earlier judicial orders. “For reasons best known to the PWD, a healthy full-grown tree was cut down… First, the roots of the tree were cut, weakening its foundation and depriving it of essential life-sustaining water, minerals, and nutrients. Then its branches were hacked-off, crippling it fatally. Lastly, the tree trunk was cut from the base to reduce it to a stump. The last photograph possibly being its epitaph in the name of development,” the court had noted. PTI ADS RKS RKS
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Source: The Print
