New Delhi: A joint committee constituted on the directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has found that 15 trees were illegally felled in Jagdamba Colony, Kadipur, in northwest Delhi and said the landowners could be held liable for the violation.In a report dated Sept 16, the committee, comprising the SDM (Burari), divisional forest officer and a representative of Delhi Pollution Control Committee, said it had visited the site multiple times and, based on physical inspection and photographic evidence, found that 15 trees had been illegally cut.The committee concluded that “the applicant’s complaint was true to the extent alleged”.The panel also examined ownership records of plots located in Khasra Nos. 491, 1148, 1157, 1158, 1149 and 1147, where the trees were allegedly felled.According to the report, the extent of development activity at the site suggested that such colonisation could not have taken place without the “active connivance and approval” of the recorded landowners.The committee observed that the recorded owners could be held vicariously liable for the illegal felling of trees. Alternatively, it said, they could help identify the individuals to whom the land had allegedly been given for activities such as tree cutting and the construction of foundations, gullies and roads.The panel recommended further action against those responsible for the alleged illegal colonisation as well as the unauthorised felling of trees.
