AAP asks LG to resign over tree felling in Satbari | Latest News Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday demanded the resignation of Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena over the felling of 1,100 trees in south Delhi's Satbari for a road-widening project in the ecologically sensitive Ridge area. It also demanded a “high-level” inquiry into the illegal felling and “presentation of facts before the Supreme Court”.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj in separate press conferences said land for road widening was to be acquired from farms in the area but “LG has cut down trees”.

“As many as 1,100 trees have been felled by the Delhi local government… Even the Supreme Court has reprimanded, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has kept silent. The BJP, which criticises Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP day and night, is not uttering a word against the local government despite repeated reprimands by the Supreme Court. This means that the BJP is fully involved in the destruction of Delhi along with the local government,” Sanjay Singh said.

The LG's office and the BJP declined to comment on the matter, saying it was sub judice.

Earlier this year, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) felled around 1,100 trees in the Satbari area to pave way for road widening. The matter is currently before the Supreme Court following a contempt petition filed by a Delhi resident, who claimed that trees were felled despite a March 4 court order denying permission.

The tree felling triggered a fresh round of conflict between the AAP government and bureaucrats working under the Delhi government, with the environment minister setting up a three-minister inquiry committee on June 29. Soon after its formation, the committee was declared illegal by the environment secretary, who said in a letter to the environment minister that “the committee has been set up in violation of rules”.

On Monday, Bharadwaj said the affidavit of the DDA contractor who felled the trees “proved” that the LG had given the order to fell the trees.

“The contractor submitted an email as part of his affidavit before the Supreme Court. It was clearly written in the email that the trees were felled on the orders of the LG. It was also written that when the trees were felled on February 13, the forest guards of the forest department stopped him. On February 14, the order was given to fell the trees even without permission. The forest department, DDA and the LG knew that there was no permission to fell the trees,” Bharadwaj said.

Sanjay Singh said agricultural land had to be acquired for the project.

“UTTIPEC (Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure Planning & Engineering Centre), which decides where and how roads will be built in Delhi, comes under the DDA and is headed by the LG. The roadmap of UTTIPEC shows that roads will be built on farm land; their land will be acquired for digging/widening the roads… I want to know what agreement has been reached with the BJP people and the LG with the farm owners,” Singh said.

“A high-level inquiry into this matter should be conducted, all facts should be presented to the Supreme Court and action should be taken against all those responsible, including the LG and officers responsible for this case,” Singh said.

Reading out the contractor's affidavit, Bharadwaj said, “The subject of the email was 'obstruction regarding existing trees'. It says that LG Delhi visited CAPFIMS (Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences) road on February 3, 2024 and directed to clear the trees coming into the ROW (right of way).”

“It is obvious that the DDA knows that there is no permission from the competent authority to cut trees… This is what the executive engineer of the DDA is writing to his chief engineer. So when the LG came on February 3, how was the permission granted? They say that the trees were cut because of confusion and no one knew that there was no permission. This is a blatant lie,” Bharadwaj said.

“The LG must resign immediately as he has been exposed in front of Delhi. His theft has been discovered,” Bharadwaj said.