The Supreme Court on Monday approved the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) plan to allocate 18 land parcels to the Delhi forest department for compensatory afforestation, calling it a much-needed step for a city that struggles with severe air pollution, especially in the winter.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and Joymalya Bagchi directed the DDA to provide ₹46 crore to the forest department for planting over 1.67 lakh trees across these identified sites. The court made it clear that the land will be used exclusively for forestry purposes, directing that an official notification be issued to prevent any change in land use.
The court instructed the DDA to build perimeter walls around all 18 sites to ensure proper protection and upkeep of the plantations. It also extended the deadline for completing the afforestation work to March 31, 2026, after considering submissions that trees should be planted only after winter for better survival rates.
To ensure compliance, the bench reappointed the three-member expert committee—comprising environmental experts Ishwar Singh, Sunil Limaye, and Pradip Krishen—to oversee the entire plantation process. Justice Surya Kant directed the panel to visit all the sites and verify the progress on the ground, remarking, “Just ensure that every inch of land in these 18 locations is usable.”
The bench also assured the forest department that if additional funds were required, the DDA would be directed to provide them.
The order comes months after the Supreme Court found DDA officials guilty of contempt for willfully violating its earlier direction that prohibited felling trees in the Ridge area, an ecologically sensitive zone of the capital. The court had banned cutting trees there for widening an approach road to a hospital for paramilitary forces.
In May, the bench had held DDA officials in contempt and fined them ₹25,000 for the violation, directing that compensatory afforestation be carried out on 185 acres of land in Delhi. The court noted that while the project for the CAPF Institute of Medical Sciences may not have been undertaken in bad faith, the manner in which officials ignored its orders and concealed facts from the court was unacceptable.
The bench had previously observed that the DDA’s conduct amounted to a “concealment of this court’s directions” and had even caused “an embarrassing position” for Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor V. K. Saxena. It also warned that if the project was found to have been pursued under the guise of serving paramilitary needs but in fact intended to benefit private interests, it would be dealt with severely.
Reiterating its earlier stance, the court said that given the extensive ecological damage caused to the Ridge, urgent and time-bound remedial measures were necessary. Monday’s approval of the afforestation plan is aimed at ensuring that environmental restoration in the capital proceeds under strict supervision and transparency.
