Delhi govt to form fact-finding panel to probe illegal felling of 1100 trees in Satbari
New Delhi: The Delhi government formed a fact-finding panel consisting of three ministers and a secretary to investigate the 'illegal' cutting down of more than 1,100 trees in the Satbari area of southern Delhi, media reported.
A meeting was convened at the secretariat to address the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) failure to submit a status report in a Supreme Court contempt case concerning unauthorised tree felling.
According to a statement from the minister's office detailing the meeting, the committee includes ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Imran Hussain.
They are tasked with preparing a report for submission to Gopal Rai, Delhi's Environment and Forest Minister.
Delhi | In the wake of the illegal cutting of 1,100 trees in Southern Ridge, a 3-member Fact Finding Committee comprising Delhi Ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi, and Imran Hussain has been constituted, who will submit their report to the Delhi Environment Minister pic.twitter.com/UcNUTWeiUt
— ANI (@ANI) June 29, 2024
The findings will be presented to the Supreme Court, which is hearing a suo-motu contempt case involving DDA vice-chairman Subhasish Panda related to this matter.
The DDA is under Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
With a commitment to establish accountability, the court instructed Ashok Kumar Gupta, DDA's member (engineering), to submit an affidavit within 10 days, detailing the events that occurred during the Lieutenant Governor's visit to the area.
Earlier in March, the Supreme Court had ordered the DDA to halt road construction without prior approval from the court.
The court also directed the Forest Survey of India (FSI), based in Dehradun, along with three independent experts, to visit the site and evaluate the number of trees felled and its environmental repercussions.
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