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Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Projects requiring felling of 50 trees or more must obtain CEC clearance: SOP
The Delhi government has issued and notified a new standard operating procedure (SOP) mandating authorities undertaking projects that necessitate the felling of 50 trees or more to obtain clearances from the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC), under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act (DPTA). The SOP, issued as a gazette notification dated April 24 and submitted to the Delhi high court, modifies the earlier process, wherein only tree officers from the forest and wildlife department had the sole authority to assess such requests. Under the revised protocol, the CEC's approval will now be required in all cases involving 50 or more trees, a move, officials said, aimed at ensuring transparency and compliance with recent court directives. The change comes on the directions of the Supreme Court and Delhi high court, which have raised concerns over the indiscriminate felling of trees and inadequate implementation of DPTA by local authorities. The high court also asked the forest department to be involved in the planning stage of infrastructure projects, to ensure that ecological considerations are built in early. While tree officers will continue to process requests for the felling or transplantation of up to 49 trees, all cases meeting or exceeding the 50-tree threshold will require review and approval from the CEC, in addition to a tree officer's initial permission. The CEC currently reviews all permissions for commercial and tree-felling activities in forests across the country. 'In case of any illicit felling of 50 or more trees, the CEC will be informed by the tree officer within twenty-four hours of receipt of such information,' the SOP said. A senior forest official said there are multiple cases in both the high court and Supreme Court on tree and tree-related felling, stating this SOP is aimed at bringing clarity and a defined structure to the process. 'The courts in the past have asked for an SOP to be devised. The new SOP clearly states for any instance where more than 50 trees will be felled, the permission will have to be given by the CEC, which normally takes a look at forest-related cases,' the official said. According to the notification, tree officers will inspect the project site upon receiving an application and assess whether the felling or translocation of trees is essential. The officer is expected to recommend the bare minimum number of trees that must be removed, after carefully examining the site. The CEC will, in turn, examine all relevant details of the proposal and determine whether the request should be approved as is, modified, or rejected. The committee will also have the power to revise the terms and conditions of any granted permission. The SOP has been formally concurred with by the CEC and is now in effect, officials added. Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmental activist and a petitioner in multiple court cases, seeking the protection of trees in Delhi, said the SOP adds additional layers of paperwork, but these are mostly procedural checkboxes. 'Mature trees are often lost in the name of development, and tree transplantation and compensatory planting don't make up for that loss. CEC's role in reviewing large scale tree felling adds another layer of oversight but it faces the same challenges as the forest department of enforcement, transparency, and scientific compliances. That does not help in protecting the environment as our laws and constitution demands,' she said.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Encroached, altered, forgotten: 14th-century Delhi's Gumti tomb set to reclaim its legacy
The Delhi government has commenced conservation of the Lodi-era Gumti tomb of Shaikh Ali, previously occupied by the Defence Colony Welfare Association. NEW DELHI: Delhi govt's archaeology department has initiated conservation work on the historic Gumti tomb of Shaikh Ali, located at the Defence Colony market roundabout. The tomb, constructed during the Lodi period in the late 14th or early 15th century, underwent inappropriate modifications in the 1990s when it was transformed into the office of the Defence Colony Welfare Association (DCWA). Following years of unauthorised occupation, the Supreme Court instructed the Defence Colony Residents' Welfare Association (DCRWA) on Jan 21 to vacate the premises and restore the site. On April 17, the archaeology department wrote to the executive engineer of Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation Ltd to take up the conservation and restoration work of the monument immediately and submit the status report before the next court hearing on May 14. DCRWA was ordered to pay Rs 40 lakh as compensation, which was submitted to the archaeology department on May 7. On May 13, the department also submitted a detailed restoration plan to the court, with the time for completion of the project estimated at six months. The restoration began this month. It involves the removal of modern additions like brick walls, plaster, wooden elements, windows, doors, false ceilings, tiles, toilet facilities, parking shed and pavements to uncover and preserve the tomb's original structure. The project encompasses conservation of the external dome, replacement of damaged lime plaster, restoration of stone brackets, archaeological excavation, plinth protection, chemical preservation, and finally, illumination of the monument and installation of CCTV cameras. Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari was happy. "This landmark judgment sets a powerful precedent; public spaces and heritage sites cannot be held hostage by encroachers," she said. "Protecting a 700-year-old monument also means the restoration of open spaces taken over by parking mafias and neglected, but now returned rightfully to the citizens." A technical expert committee with historian Dr Swapna Liddle in it, formed on March 10, conducted a site inspection on April 24 and provided comprehensive recommendations for the restoration work to prevent it from decay and maintain its originality and presentation. Archaeology department officials reported that on May 12, scaffolding with protective netting was installed, and modern additions concealing the original octagonal structure were carefully removed. Officials noted that after removing the false ceiling, they discovered embedded metal structures previously used for fixtures. Following technical committee guidance, these were carefully removed to preserve the original structure. The exposed internal dome reveals 16 decorated niches with multiple paint layers. Chemical treatment is going on to remove the paint layers and uncover the original colour. Trial excavations have revealed evidence of the existence of the original flooring. Modern additions like DCWA entrance features like signage with sunshade, marble stairs and pathways have been removed. Vegetation removal, chemical treatment of roots and structural strengthening are also being undertaken. The external dome's restoration, including repair of the lotus cresting and plaster work, is under way too. Stone plinth protection will follow the removal of the scaffolding. Delhi govt has proposed declaring the Gumti of Shaikh Ali a protected monument under the Delhi Ancient and Historical Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2004, which establishes prohibited and regulated spaces in the city.
Time of India
22-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Delhi interventions to tackle air pollution
New Delhi: Around 159 tonnes of road dust is collected daily in the city, water is sprinkled on nearly 1,995km of roads to stifle dust and 164 places have been deemed vulnerable to dumping of industrial waste. These are among the interventions made by Delhi govt's environment department to deal with air pollution along with other departments. A new report by the environment department titled 'Management interventions to mitigate air pollution in Delhi' has outlined 11 areas to tackle air pollution. It includes dust management from construction and demolition activities, mitigation of dust from roads and open areas, control of fires in sanitary landfills, prevention of open burning of municipal solid waste and biomass, electric mobility, vehicular pollution control , augmentation of public transport, effective grievance redressal, greening and plantation programmes, abating pollution caused by diesel generators and other actions under Stage III and IV of the Graded Response Action Plan. To deal with dust pollution, 86 mechanised road sweeping (MRS) machines were deployed in March. According to the report, MCD requires 168 MRS as one machine is required for sweeping 40 km. Though MCD currently has 52 MRS, 99 MRS are in the process of being acquired. NDMC, which needs nine MRS, has six and is in the process of getting six more. The report says that an average of around 159 tonnes of road dust is collected every day and disposed of at Okhla, Bhalswa, Ghazipur, Shastri Park, Begumpur and Burari. Around 1,995km of road length gets sprinkled with water, for which 224 water sprinkling machines, including water tankers, have been deployed. The capacity of water sprinklers ranges from 1,000 to 10,000 litres. Apart from water sprinklers, anti-smog guns have been installed at buildings, and static and mobile anti-smog guns have been deployed at other sites. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo According to the report, 134 road stretches with maximum congestion have been identified in the city. Around 62.3 lakh 10–15-year-old vehicles have been de-registered till March 31. Moreover, 7,686 vehicles were impounded and sent for scrapping this year till March 31. Of the total plantation target of 64.1 lakh saplings in 2024-25, around 97% (62.7 lakh) has been achieved till March. Environmental activist Bhavreen Kandhari said the report offers a familiar checklist of measures but lacks a critical lens on effectiveness and outcomes. "The report projects optimism without fully accounting for why air pollution trends remain stagnant or worsening in many areas," she said. "For instance, the decline in 'severe' AQI days is presented as a major success, yet the report avoids explaining the broader trend of PM2.5 levels remaining dangerously high. What Delhi needs now is not just more action, but better action, and a willingness to rethink what's not working."
