The Supreme Court of India has found the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) guilty of contempt for illegally felling trees in Delhi’s Ridge area to widen a road, despite previous court orders prohibiting such actions. The court has now directed the DDA to undertake large-scale afforestation to compensate for the environmental damage caused.
The controversy began when the DDA felled over 1,100 trees in the Ridge area for a road-widening project, allegedly without obtaining prior permission from the Supreme Court. The Ridge, often referred to as Delhi’s green lungs, plays a crucial role in maintaining the city’s ecological balance.
A contempt plea was filed against the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) and DDA officials, accusing them of violating the 1996 and March 4, 2024, Supreme Court orders that banned tree felling in the Ridge area.
A bench led by Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh ruled that the DDA’s actions amounted to contempt of court, though it acknowledged that there was no malafide intent behind the project. The court categorized the incident as an “administrative misjudgment” rather than deliberate defiance.
As a penalty, the court ordered each DDA official involved in the tree felling—except the DDA chairperson and vice-chairperson—to pay a fine of ₹25,000. Additionally, the court directed the DDA to impose a one-time levy on affluent residents who benefited from the widened road.
To compensate for the loss of greenery, the Supreme Court has mandated extensive afforestation, ensuring that 3,340 trees are planted in the Ridge area—100 times the number of trees cut.
A three-member committee has been formed to oversee the afforestation process, ensuring that the newly planted trees thrive and contribute to restoring Delhi’s green cover. The Delhi government and DDA have been instructed to implement the committee’s recommendations to enhance the city’s environmental sustainability.
