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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bhardwaj has accused Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena of distancing himself from the fact that he visited the areas in the eco-sensitive Ridge of the Satbari area where trees were cut down and issued instructions.
Bhardwaj stated that it has been repeatedly asserted that the Lieutenant Governor visited the sites where trees were felled, a claim supported by an affidavit. "The Supreme Court had instructed all senior officials to confirm in an affidavit whether the Lieutenant Governor visited the locations where trees were cut. We were consistently informed that the Lieutenant Governor had visited these sites, and the affidavit clearly indicates that he did so and gave instructions there. However, the affidavit attempts to suggest that the Lieutenant Governor was unaware that permission from the forest officer is required to cut trees in Delhi," said Delhi minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj. "The Chief Secretary claims that no officer informed the Lieutenant Governor of this requirement. How is that possible? This can only happen if officers are so intimidated by the Lieutenant Governor that they are unable to challenge even his illegal policies. This is a disgrace for the entire Delhi bureaucracy," he added. Earlier, the Supreme Court, while hearing the case, directed the Delhi government to explain how it plans to compensate for the illegal felling of trees. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan also asked the Delhi government to determine how many such illegal permissions for tree cutting have been granted in the last five years and to present those permissions on record. Furthermore, the government and DDA officers were given the freedom to inform the apex court whether Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had been informed that he could not grant permission for tree felling without the court's order. The Supreme Court also directed the DDA to clarify whether it had made the decision to cut the trees based on the Lieutenant Governor's permission or if an independent decision had been made. The court was hearing a plea filed by Delhi resident Bindu Kapurea, the NGO, and others, alleging that trees were cut despite a March 4 court order denying permission to the DDA and that the tree cutting was concealed from the court. In May, the Supreme Court initiated a suo motu contempt of court case against DDA Vice-Chairman Subhasish Panda for violating the court's orders from February this year by allowing the felling of trees. (ANI)
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