The variety of bushes reduce with out due permission to widen a street in South Delhi’s Chattarpur is greater than two-and-a-half instances of what the Delhi Improvement Authority and Lt Governor VK Saxena instructed the Supreme Court docket in separate affidavits, a report submitted by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) says.
As per the report submitted Monday, FSI estimated {that a} whole of round 1,670 bushes had been felled. Of those, round 1,136 have been contained in the Ridge forest space and 534 have been outdoors the forest space.
In his affidavit submitted in courtroom on October 22, Saxena had referred to DDA data which stated that the courtroom had earlier been knowledgeable in opposition to the proposed felling/transplantation of 1,050 bushes, the precise determine was round 642.
“It’s respectfully submitted that the precise determine of the bushes felled is approx. 642 and never 1,100, as has been defined hereinabove as per DDA’s data,” Saxena had stated on this affidavit.
There are additionally variations within the variety of bushes reduce as offered to the FSI by the Delhi Forest Division, and by the DDA to the Supreme Court docket.
The Supreme Court docket had on Could 16 requested the FSI to find out the variety of bushes reduce and to evaluate the environmental harm completed and submit a report. The report stated the Delhi forest division had pegged the variety of bushes felled at 745 in June.
“There’s a distinction between the figures given by the Delhi Forest Division… and that of the Forest Survey of India… As per the Delhi Forest Division, whole enumeration of variety of bushes in Proper of Means required to be felled is 629 bushes inside Recorded Forest Space (RFA) and 422 bushes outdoors RFA. The variety of bushes estimated by the Forest Survey of India… are 1,331 bushes inside RFA and 1,762 bushes outdoors RFA.”
The FSI surveyed the world utilizing a Very Excessive Decision satellite tv for pc, Differential International Positioning System (DGPS) survey in addition to subject surveys.
FSI groups and the Director Normal additionally undertook subject inspections with senior Delhi Forest Division officers on October 26 and 27 to pattern verify the standing bushes.
Stating errors in calculation even on the stage of mission proposal, FSI stated that the estimated variety of bushes within the affected space have been about 3,093, whereas the mission proposal set it at 1,050.
Even the variety of bushes that stay standing within the affected space, as reported by the Delhi Forest Division, was incorrect, FSI stated, pegging the quantity at 1,654 in opposition to 306 as reported by the latter.
“These variations clearly point out that the variety of bushes proposed for felling and variety of bushes really felled have been grossly under-reported. Equally, the variety of bushes reported to be felled is lower than half the quantity estimated by FSI,” the report stated.
Stating the absurdity of miscounting standing bushes, FSI wrote, “However essentially the most stunning factor was reporting the incorrect variety of standing bushes. Standing bushes are nonetheless standing and could be counted by anybody any variety of instances. How can the variety of standing bushes given by the Delhi Forest Division differ from the variety of bushes really standing on the bottom? On enquiring from the workers, who was accompanying us within the enumeration of standing bushes, it was learnt that that they had not marked the boundary of the mission space on the bottom earlier than enumeration, though boundary file (KML) was accessible with them. If the mission boundary is marked on the bottom, the precise extent of the world on the bottom could be seen on the time of enumeration, and enumeration could be completed contained in the boundary,” it stated.
