In a significant development aimed at curbing deforestation in the National Capital Region, the Delhi High Court on Friday ruled that any permission for the felling or transplantation of 50 or more trees in Delhi must be overseen by the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) authorised by the Supreme Court.
Justice Jasmeet Singh, who passed the order, clarified that in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions dated December 19, 2024, and April 8, 2025, the CEC would now supervise all such approvals. The ruling came in response to a plea by the Delhi government seeking modification of earlier directions issued by the High Court under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act.
“Since the CEC has been authorised by the Supreme Court… to supervise permissions granted by the department for 50 trees and more, this court is not required to supervise the same,” the court stated. As a result, its earlier orders dated August 31, 2023, September 14, 2023, and August 9, 2024, were vacated or modified to this extent.
However, the court clarified that for permissions involving fewer than 50 trees, the interim regime would continue until a standard operating procedure is formulated and implemented by the authorities.
The High Court had previously intervened after observing repeated failures by the Department of Forest and Wildlife to apply the statutory safeguards under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act. This had resulted in large-scale deforestation, severely impacting Delhi’s already fragile environment.
“The sole objective behind passing of the said interim orders was prevention of further harm being instilled on our scarce but valuable resource that the National Capital Region has against the deteriorating environmental and public health,” the court observed.
Earlier, the High Court had halted all tree-felling permissions and mandated that any such requests be submitted to it first, after tree officers failed to pass reasoned orders on such applications. These directions were passed in a contempt plea regarding non-compliance with previous court orders.
The Supreme Court, while hearing a PIL filed by environmentalist M.C. Mehta in 1985, had in December 2024 held that the CEC must approve all permissions to fell 50 or more trees. Even if a tree officer granted such permission, it could not be acted upon unless reviewed and cleared by the CEC.
The High Court’s latest ruling marks a shift in oversight responsibility while reaffirming its continued commitment to environmental protection in cases involving fewer trees.
