Court asks civic agencies to remove concrete around trees
By IANSWednesday, October 28, 2009
NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed all civic agencies in the capital to expeditiously remove concrete tiles and slabs around trees, so that trees can “breathe” and concretisation of pavements does not kill them.
A division bench comprising of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to remove concrete from six feet periphery of trees.
The court also asked all the civic agencies to file an undertaking for complying with the orders by Oct 30.
The court was hearing a public interest petition filed by S.C. Jain, who pointed out that trees in the city were falling because their roots were becoming weak due to concretisation of pavements.
Appearing for the petitioner, lawyer Sugreev Dubey contended that “trees were getting uprooted even after the slightest of storms, which in turn was leading to huge jams across the capital’s roads”.
He cited the heavy rains that lashed the city July 27 and said: “The roots of the trees are destroyed because they get little space to grow and anchor the trees. The concrete pavements are preventing adequate supply of water needed for their growth.”
