Foresters�?nod to tree felling in DLF-1 for four-floor bldgs draws criticism

Ipsita Pati / Apr 6, 2025, 23:59 IST

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Foresters�?nod to tree felling in DLF-1 for four-floor bldgs draws criticism

Gurgaon: Environmentalists have opposed permission granted to a developer for felling trees on Arjun Marg Road in DLF-1 to make way for stilt-plus four floor houses there.
The developer, which maintains the colony, applied for approval to chop five trees on the stretch in March this year. The land where the trees are is notified under Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), which restricts deforestation without permission.
On April 1, the forest department gave the developer approval to chop three trees. Its response for the remaining two trees is pending.
Activists said on Sunday that the developer manages the area, but it is not the land's owner.

"The coloniser has no authority or locus to apply for any permission on behalf of any builder. Under section 4 of PLPA Act, only the owner of the land can apply for tree felling permission," said Nibedita Sharma, Supreme Court advocate and a DLF-1 resident.
Sharma added: "This is fallacious and misleading. The coloniser's licence is only to the extent of development and maintenance of the colony. Section 4 of PLPA is being misused in connivance with the govt."
The advocate alleged that thousands of trees have been chopped across the state to make way for the S+4 floor policy, and worsened air pollution in the city.
"No compensatory plantation was carried out. Felling of trees is a sin against humanity and a shameful act by authorities," Sharma said.
Others said the city was rapidly concretising and losing green cover.
"Stilt parking and end-to-end gates at the facade of a plot have led to this mindless development. And this is the case for every urban town and city of Haryana," said Col Sarvadaman Oberoi (retd), managing trustee of Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement.
"Although this amendment (S+4 policy) has been an excellent source of revenue generation for your govt, no focus has been on livability and green cover," he added. The developer did not respond to requests for a comment till Sunday night.
Forest department officials said the colony has not been handed over to MCG for maintenance till now. "Thus, the coloniser can apply for tree felling, which is not inside any plots," the official said.
TOI reported last year that the city's overall tree and forest cover was just 12.9% of its geographical area, according to findings of Haryana's first tree census.
Also, the state does not have a Tree Act like the one in Delhi. The law, specifically meant to protect the capital's tree cover, mandates that for cutting one tree, a person would have to deposit Rs 34,500 with the forest department and plant 10 saplings in return.
For a civic agency, the cost of cutting one tree comes to Rs 57,000 under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, and imprisonment of 7 years for illegal felling of trees.

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