Affidavits of Delhi officers indicate LG visited Ridge area tree felling site: Bharadwaj

New Delhi: The AAP on Sunday claimed affidavits submitted by Delhi government officers before the Supreme Court show that Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had visited the site in the Ridge area where trees were felled "without due permission".

Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the trees were felled with the connivance of all involved, with officers now lying to protect the LG.

He also accused Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and the LG of trying to fool the people of Delhi and the apex court in this matter.

There was no immediate reaction on the allegations from the LG office.

"We were constantly saying that the LG himself had visited the tree felling site on February 3 this year. When the (apex) court asked about this, it was misled by saying that he had not gone there but to a hospital," Bharadwaj said.

After this, the Supreme Court asked all the officers to file their affidavits on the matter, he said.

Reading out Chief Secretary Kumar's affidavit, the AAP leader said he mentioned that none of the officers present at the site brought to the notice of the LG the orders passed by the Supreme Court or the requirement of obtaining permission of the tree officer.

Bharadwaj questioned why no action was taken against the erring officers.

"The chief secretary and others know that permission is needed to cut the trees. Then why has the LG not taken any action till now against the chief secretary, principal secretary environment, and all the DDA officers, including engineers? This means that everyone is in connivance," he said.

"I request the LG to hold a press conference and answer the people of Delhi about how it is possible that he did not know the tree officer's permission is needed to cut trees," he charged.

The matter pertains to a suo motu (on its own) case initiated by the apex court in which it had issued a notice of criminal contempt against DDA vice chairman Subhasish Panda for allowing large-scale felling of trees in the southern Ridge's Satbari area to construct a road from Chhattarpur to South Asian University.

The top court has pulled up officials of both the DDA and Delhi government in the matter.

Perusing two affidavits filed by vice-chairman of DDA, the bench on July 12 had noted that there was reluctance on the part of all concerned to bring on record what exactly transpired during LG's visit to the site on February 3, 2024 when the oral order for tree cutting was given.