Vasant Vihar residents move NGT against ‘pruning’ of trees by welfare association

NEW DELHI: The residents of Vasant Vihar are not happy with the Vasant Vihar Welfare Association’s act of “destroying” the area’s green cover. Around 2,000 of 7,000 trees in the area have been “pruned” “unscientifically” and “illegally”.
According to residents of the area, the Welfare Association has “slaughtered” the trees in the name of pruning. The residents say that the Welfare Association has no right to prune trees and “slaughter” them. “In November-December last year, the cutting of trees took place in our area. We residents wrote about this to the Welfare Association, but we got no reply. Then, we wrote to the MCD and again we got no reply and then after all of this, we approached the National Green Tribunal,” Dr Sanjeev Bagai, a resident of the area for the last 35 years and one who is fighting for the environmental cause, said.
Dr Bagai also informed that before going to NGT, an FIR was lodged at the Vasant Vihar Police station, “but no action was taken because there was no implementation judiciary body”. “There are international studies which show green cover protects from the high level of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide. Pollution directly impacts cardiopulmonary and mental health and mortality and, therefore, we must preserve the green environment for our next generation,” Dr Sanjeev Bagai said.
According to Dr Bagai, trees were pruned in an unscientific manner by the Vasant Vihar Welfare Association (VVWA) and many trees which are butchered would soon fall and many have disappeared from the locality. “Any tree which is on government or public land, the onus of maintaining the tree is only by the land-owning body of India, which is MCD, DDA and PWD in Delhi. Private organizations, NGOs or associations have no right to butcher the trees,” Dr Bagai said. The NGT had issued an interim order dated 21 December 2022, that the pruning has to be undertaken in compliance with applicable laws and in a scientific manner, Dr Bagai said. “Only land-owning agencies can cut the trees, the VVWA is nobody to damage the trees,” NGT interim order said, according to Bagai.
He further accused the Welfare Association of spending public money. According to him, Rs 5-7 lakh are spent on cutting the trees and it shows a vested interest. “They are taking money from the residents and trying to show that they are cutting the trees. They have no business to be taking money from the residents and no business to be cutting trees. This amounts to inappropriate laundering of money,” Dr Sajeev Bagai accused the VVWA.
In an affidavit, submitted to NGT, VVMA claimed that no significant sums of money were being spent on pruning of trees or hiring private contractors. Dr Bagai, however, believes that spending Rs 5 lakh is a lot of money for any RWA to spend on tree pruning, and he claimed that the money isn’t being used solely for that purpose.
According to the affidavit, tabled before NGT by Welfare Association, it stated that the pruning was not undertaken by VVWA and that it only provided ancillary services. The Association informed residents that pruning was done in a perfect manner and MCD is undertaking the work. But according to Dr Bagai, “The Association is lying in court.”