Will take care of green belt along elevated road: PWD to NGT

The Public Works Department has given an assurance to the National Green Tribunal that it will take care of the green belt along the elevated road project on the Vikas Puri-Mukarba Chowk stretch here by planting 2908 trees to replace the 1476 which will be cut.
The PWD informed a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar that apart from taking care of the green belt along the project area, the authority will also undertake compensatory afforestation at another site in the ratio of 1:10 for every tree that is cut.
The bench has fixed the matter for final disposal on October 18, when the fate of the project and the trees is likely to be decided by the tribunal.

It has, meanwhile, given two weeks' time to petitioner Aditya Prasad to file his response regarding the submissions in the PWD's affidavit.
He has also been given liberty to make suggestions and precautions which the authorities may adopt while completing the project.
The PWD in its affidavit has also claimed that it is complying with all directions of the tribunal and sought the NGT's permission to freely continue with the project rather than the restricted manner in which they have been working currently.

The PWD's submissions came less than a month after the NGT had pulled up the authority and its engineer for only being concerned about their project and not about saving the trees of the project area.

The tribunal had directed the Chief Engineer of PWD to file a personal affidavit giving complete details of the trees that require to be felled as well as details about those that will be transplanted nearby or at another site.
The tribunal in its order had also directed that if it is not possible to transplant the trees that would be removed or felled, then reforestation in the ratio of 1:20 be done by the PWD.