The Union Environment Ministry has accorded fresh approval to the stalled redevelopment projects at Sarojini Nagar and Netaji Nagar and permitted NBCC — the public sector construction company— the ‘transplantation’ of about 5,000 trees as opposed to the felling of 11,000 trees.
Awaits HC decision
The clearance, however, is subject to the Delhi High Court’s decision on the petition demanding that the project be scrapped.
The High Court had permitted NBCC to draw plans that could minimise or avoid the arboreal decimation.
The felling of trees had sparked protests in Delhi last year and led to the filing of a petition in the High Court and the National Green Tribunal, demanding that the project be scrapped. The High Court then stayed the project.
The project consists of six redevelopment projects in Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Thyagaraj Nagar, Mohammedpur, Kasturba Nagar. This is a ₹ 32,835-crore exercise, which spans 6,62,000 sqm and involves developing government accommodation as well as commercial properties.
It was to be constructed over 5 years and requires a clearance by the Union Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) to proceed. As documents had shown, the EAC cleared the projects at Netaji Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Thyagaraj Nagar and Sarojini Nagar — the last of which involves felling 11,000 trees — over several meetings between September 2017 and April 2018.
On March 27, in a meeting of the environment appraisal committee — an expert body constituted by Union Environment Ministry — , the project was cleared as it proposed to transplant, namely transport and replant the trees in another location, 3,500 (+/- 5%) trees and retain 8,413 (+/- 5%) trees at the project site. “No tree transplantation should be carried out unless exigencies demand. Where absolutely necessary, tree transplantation shall be with prior permission from the Tree Authority constituted as per the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act… Old trees should be retained based on girth and age regulations as may be prescribed by the Forest Department…In case of non-survival of any transplanted tree, compensatory plantation in the ratio of 1:10 [i.e. planting of 10 trees for every 1 tree] shall be done and maintained…” says the document describing the EAC decision and viewed by The Hindu .
Regarding the component of the project in Nauroji Nagar, the EAC had been told that of the 3,906 existing trees of different species, 1,600 (+/- 5%) trees would be transplanted and 2,306 (+/- 5%) trees would be retained at the project site.
According to EAC, other mitigating factors included a reduced requirement for fresh water and a more efficient sewage management system.
