On Monday, the Apex Court criticised the Delhi government’s forest department for its “lacklustre” & “lackadaisical” approach to enhancing the Capital’s green cover, summoning the forest department secretary to explain lapses.
The remarks were made by a bench of justices AS Oka & SVN Bhatti during a hearing on the efforts to boost green spaces in Delhi, in which it ordered the secretary of the forest department to appear on October 18 to respond to further questions from the court & to file a personal affidavit outlining the steps taken to improve the city’s green cover.
“First, you (forest department) are not doing anything at all… You have a completely lacklustre approach… It is not for the benefit of judges like us that we are hearing this case. It is for the benefit of the people of Delhi that we are hearing this matter,” observed the bench.
During the proceedings, the bench sought an update from the Delhi government’s forest department on the measures taken to enhance green cover in terms of its previous directives in May & June. However, the counsel for the department, Chirag M Shroff, requested more time, stating that the government’s status report did not include the required information & referring to a separate affidavit filed in a contempt case.
To be sure, the contempt case in question was the one that prompted Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud to intervene for resolving a rare confrontation between two Supreme Court benches. Related to tree-felling in Delhi’s Ridge area, the contempt case was shifted to the CJI’s bench by an order in August after two different benches – one led by justice Bhushan R Gavai & another headed by justice Oka — started hearing related but separate aspect of the contempt case against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), leading to a potential judicial standoff.
When it was informed about the affidavit in the contempt case, justice Oka’s bench on Monday rebuked the counsel for filing the affidavit in the wrong case. “The directions on enhancing green cover were filed in the writ petition, not the contempt matter. Don’t try to take advantage of the contempt petition being transferred. We are warning you,” it told Shroff.
At this point, senior counsel Guru Krishna Kumar & Anitha Shenoy, who have been assisting the court as amicus curiae, pointed out that there is a working plan for Delhi being prepared, & that they had also given elaborate suggestions during the last meeting convened by the forest department. But the senior advocates also flagged the issue of lack of alacrity on the part of the authorities concerned.
Responding, the bench expressed frustration over the government’s inaction, remarking: “They have done nothing. They are only holding meetings. They are doing nothing more.”