The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) to strictly comply with the conditions imposed by the Delhi High Court while allowing the felling or transplantation of 36 trees for the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project.
The Tribunal’s order came in response to a plea filed by the Residents Welfare Association of Siddhartha Extension Pocket C, South Delhi, raising environmental concerns over the proposed uprooting of 40 mature trees—25 of which were fully grown—for the construction of the RRTS corridor.
The Delhi-Meerut RRTS is an 82.15 km semi-high-speed rail corridor connecting Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Meerut, aiming to ease regional commuting and reduce vehicular pollution.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, along with Judicial Member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Expert Members Afroz Ahamad and A Senthil Vel, noted that the issue was already adjudicated by the Delhi High Court on February 21, 2025. The High Court had allowed NCRTC to proceed with the felling or transplantation of 36 trees, subject to stringent environmental safeguards.
The NGT highlighted that the NCRTC had obtained prior approval from the Forest Department on December 16, 2021, for the felling or transplantation of 144 trees in the area. Of these, action had already been taken on 108 trees, with 99 being transplanted and 17 felled. The current plea before the Tribunal, therefore, pertained only to the remaining 36 trees.
The Tribunal reiterated that the conditions set by the Delhi High Court must be fulfilled, particularly the requirement of planting 1,440 indigenous variety trees with a nursery life of at least three years in a suitable area. Additionally, a senior NCRTC officer must submit an affidavit assuming responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of these compensatory trees for the next five years.
The High Court had also sought a comprehensive status report on the total number of trees affected and the compensatory afforestation efforts undertaken across the entire RRTS corridor.
Concluding that the Delhi High Court had already addressed the environmental concerns, the NGT disposed of the plea, observing that compliance with the court’s directions and forest department permissions would sufficiently mitigate potential ecological impact.
