Overview
- The bench directed a complete, site-wise compliance report with on-ground proof and scheduled the next hearing for January 19.
- The DDA seeks approval to cut 473 trees, translocate 2,519 saplings, and divert 2.97 hectares of forest land for road access to CAPFIMS.
- Chief Justice Surya Kant pressed for accountability over earlier felling across 18 pockets and warned against cosmetic ‘AI-generated forests’.
- DDA counsel said 185 acres have been identified for afforestation with possession taken, boundary walls targeted by February 28, and tenders issued, but the court sought verification including planting details and survival rates.
- The Solicitor General argued saplings must be moved for the road and noted CAPFIMS currently has only an outpatient department, while the amicus said those saplings were planted to compensate for earlier, unauthorised felling.