“Pathetic": Supreme Court pulls up Haryana officials for cutting 40 trees to widen road to BJP office

The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on Haryana authorities for cutting down forty full-grown trees to widen a road allegedly leading to a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district office [Col. Davinder Singh Rajput vs. State Of Haryana And Ors.].

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan said it was shocked to note the action of the authorities in cutting down the trees just for political convenience.

At the outset, Additional Solicitor General Vikramjeet Banerjee, appearing for the Haryana Shehri Vikas Parishad (HSVP), requested time to file an affidavit explaining the authority's position.

Justice Pardiwala immediately questioned the need for such an act.

He asked sharply why the trees had been felled and whether the State had permission to do so.

Banerjee admitted that forty trees had been cut but claimed that the action was taken to ease traffic congestion.

Justice Pardiwala was unconvinced. He questioned the basis for the decision and the destination of the newly built road.

When the petitioner counsel informed the bench that the road led directly to the BJP district headquarters, Justice Pardiwala remarked that the authorities’ actions reflected a complete disregard for the environment.

Calling the act “ruthless” and “pathetic,” the judge said it was shocking that officials chose to destroy a green belt merely to create access to a political office.

“You wanted access to the office and for that you felled mercilessly? Pathetic! You could have put up this office anywhere else. We talk about environment, green belt…” Justice Pardiwala said.

When Banerjee said the State would “compensate” for the felling, the Court responded sharply that no compensation could restore the loss of mature trees.

“What do you mean by compensation? You take away the life of a tree and you will compensate whom? We are going to take this up very seriously. You could not have chopped off forty full-grown trees to widen the road so it could lead to that office,” Justice Pardiwala said.

Banerjee argued that the action was taken under pressure from local residents due to congestion. But the Court was not persuaded.

“Accha? Should we ask those local residents?” Justice Pardiwala asked pointedly.

Meanwhile, the petitioner's counsel alleged that the construction/ road widening itself was beyond the jurisdiction of HSVP.

The counsel said the road was a “link road” between the sector road and the National Highway, which fell under the purview of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and not the local authority.

He submitted that HSVP had no authority to undertake the construction.

When asked about the current status, the counsel informed the bench that the construction was complete, and that his client's residence had now become a “T-point” for the traffic emerging from the new road. He urged the Court to restore the green belt and halt traffic on that route.

Justice Pardiwala asked how such traffic could be stopped, to which the counsel said it could be blocked temporarily.

Justice Viswanathan then noted that the road was presently a sanctioned one but agreed that the Court would need to examine the permissions and jurisdiction issues before taking further steps.

“As things stand, it is a sanctioned road. Still, we will look into the permissions and other things. We can’t pass anything at this stage,” Justice Viswanathan said

The bench then dictated its order, making clear that it found the incident deeply disturbing.

“We have taken this matter very seriously. Something shocking could be said to have been done by the authorities. These authorities are responsible for felling of 40 full-grown trees on the pretext of widening the road,” the Court recorded.

It directed HSVP to file an affidavit within two weeks explaining the circumstances in which the trees were felled and the purpose for which the road widening was undertaken.

When the State counsel asked whether the State and other respondents also needed to file a response, Justice Pardiwala responded firmly that every authority involved would be held accountable.

“Yes. As early as possible. We are going to take each one of you to task. Take it from us. Two weeks. All authorities will be here before us. We are going to put them questions. One after the other. Take it from us. We are going to take up this issue very seriously. Very seriously,” Justice Pardiwala said.

He added that filing affidavits alone would not suffice and said that felling of trees “for a purpose which is not convincing” could not be justified.