Contempt plea in HC against NBCC for tree cutting

Vartha Bharati | 27-06-2018 | 18:19:00 IST

New Delhi, June 27: A petition was filed in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday seeking contempt action against the National Buildings Construction Corp (NBCC), tasked with redeveloping six south Delhi colonies, for allegedly violating its undertaking to the court not to cut trees till July 4 for residential projects here.

The contempt petition was mentioned before a bench of Justice Vinod Goel and Justice Rekha Palli which posted the plea, filed by environmentalist Vimlendu Jha, for hearing on July 4 along with the main petition.

While hearing the main plea, which had sought setting aside of the terms of reference and environmental clearance granted to the project by the Environment Ministry, the bench on June 25 asked the NBCC not to axe till July 4 the 16,500 trees set to be cut for the residential project.

In the contempt plea, Jha alleged that there was "deliberate and willful default" of the June 25 undertaking given to the court by the NBCC.

He said that the alleged contemnor (NBCC CMD) had undertaken not to cut trees in areas concerned till July 4 but on Tuesday he noticed that the officials and workers of NBCC were cutting trees in Netaji Nagar in south Delhi.

A police complaint had been filed and he sought contempt action against authorities, the plea added.

On Monday, the court asked the NBCC not to cut the trees till the next date of hearing and the NBCC had assured the bench that it will not chop any tree till July 4.

The main petition was filed by orthopaedic surgeon Kaushal Kant Mishra against the Environment Ministry's order, saying that it would lead to felling of over 16,500 trees.

The six south Delhi colonies where the trees would be felled are Sarojini Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Thyagaraja Nagar, Mohammadpur and Kasturba Nagar.

All these areas are home to government employees where the Central government is pulling down houses built in the 1950s and replacing them with high-rise buildings.

Besides the NBCC, the project is also being executed by the Central Public Works Department.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.

Youth Cong leader killed in Karnataka's Dharwad

11-04-2026 ¦ 11-04-2026 IST

Photo credit: TOI

Dharwad (PTI): A Youth Congress leader was allegedly killed by unidentified assailants after barging into his residence in the city, police said on Saturday. The deceased was identified as Fairoz Pathan, they said.

The incident took place at his house in the Hashminagar area on late Friday, creating panic among local residents.

Police said that four unidentified assailants barged into his house and attacked him with lethal weapons.

After committing the crime, the accused fled from the spot. The entire act has been captured on nearby CCTV cameras, providing crucial leads for the investigation, a senior police officer said.

Upon receiving information, police from the Sub-Urban Police Station rushed to the spot and conducted an inspection. The exact reason behind the murder is yet to be ascertained, he said.

Police have registered a case and launched an investigation to identify and apprehend the accused.