Delhi: Fine of Rs 38 lakh imposed for failing to remove concrete enclosures around trees

According to a recent order issued by the DCF, there are 387 trees in the PWD area of Vasant Vihar which are still surrounded by concrete enclosures. The order imposes a fine of Rs 10,000 per tree, totalling to Rs 38,70,000 for 387 trees. The order was issued after a hearing held by the DCF, who is also the Tree Officer.

DCF (West) Navneet Srivastava said the PWD had not submitted any documents despite a court order. The Delhi High Court had asked the South Delhi Municipal Corporation and the PWD to submit a compliance report in the matter to the Tree Officer by January 5. The horticulture wing of the PWD had informed the High Court in January that, out of the 1,793 trees in Vasant Vihar, 1,688 had been de-concretised. The court had then asked for a compliance affidavit to be filed along with photographs.

The Tree Officer’s recent order notes that the horticulture wing has not numbered the trees within its jurisdiction despite previous orders, and that the PWD civil division has not completed the de-concretisation of the trees. Going by the order, the PWD was asked to submit compliance affidavits to the Tree Officer on January 28 and February 1 this year, but none were done.

The SDMC has claimed that they have de-concretised every tree, Srivastava said. In the survey that the Forest Department conducted in January, till Jan 20, the SDMC was left with 237 trees. In a report that the SDMC submitted on February 4, they have said that they have de-concretised all 3,909 trees, but the Forest Department is yet to verify that, he added.

According to an order by the NGT in 2013, concrete within a 1 metre radius of a tree is to be removed. A notice issued by the DCF (West) in 2019 to all government departments and civic agencies reiterates that concretization of trees not only damages the tree, but is also an offence under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994. The notice reminds the agencies that trees with concrete around them are to be de-concretised manually so that the roots are not damaged.

Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist in-charge at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park, said that concrete around trees makes it difficult for the roots to draw materials from the soil. “The growth pattern of the tree is then disturbed. If they are not able to draw enough nutrients, it becomes weak and susceptible to pathogens, and ultimately dies. In the concretised areas, the anchoring of the tree also becomes weak, and it may fall,” he added.