The National Green Tribunal (NGT) dismissed a Petition filed challenging the Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the Rail Land Development Authority for the combined plot Railway Land Parcel, measuring approximately 1,24,000 sq. mtrs. situated along New Bijwasan Railway Station, Delhi.
The allegation of the applicant is that a piece of land for which RFP has been issued is a part of forest land and in terms of Section 2 of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, permission of the Central Government has not been obtained. Further plea is that there are as many as 1100 trees standing on the land which will be cut in the process of implementation of the project.
Tribunal, on the appearance of the respondents, had given them an opportunity to file the response. On 28.11.2023, considering the question involved in the matter, notice to unrepresented respondents were also issued and respondent no. 3 was directed to file the response and clarify if the land in question is forest land.
A short affidavit on behalf of the Rail Land Development Authority has been filed disclosing that the Ministry of Railways has decided to re-develop the existing railway station through Indian Railway Station Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC) as nodal agency in order to reduce the vehicular traffic on railway network in Delhi and to decongest New Delhi Railway Station. The Master Plan for Delhi 2021 proposes several Directional Metropolitan Passengers Terminals in Delhi including two such Directional Metropolitan Passengers Terminals at Bijwasan (South West Delhi-Dwarka Project) (the project in question) and Anand Vihar (East Delhi).
It is stated in the reply that till date there has not been any felling of the trees on the subject land by respondent no. 1 and even development work/project work has not yet commenced. Further stand of the respondent no. 1 is that prior permission of the Central Government under Section 2 of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 is not required for works on railway lands and that Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Changes vide letter dated 10.03.2022 has clarified that the need for obtaining approval of the Central Government under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 will not arise for execution or maintaining the railways work on railways own land.
The affidavit dated 12.02.2024 on behalf of Deputy Conservator of Forest, West Forest Division has been filed stating that Department of Forest and Wildlife, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) has checked all the relevant documents available in the office regarding the land in question and that as per the document available, the said land is not notified forest land. The affidavit vaguely states that the status of the land as deemed forest is not ruled out.
Additional affidavit on behalf of respondent no. 1 dated 12.02.2024 has been filed stating that the subject land is neither declared or notified forest land nor is a forest land as per Government record and that the subject land is excluded from the scope of the one (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 [earlier known as Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980)]. Applicant has filed the rejoinder dated 14.12.2023 objecting to the plea taken by the respondents in their response.
Respondent no. 3 has filed the response in the form of affidavit on behalf of Deputy Conservator of Forest, West Forest Division clearly stating that as per the available document, subject land is not a notified forest land. No material has been produced by the applicant to dispute it. Along with the application, the applicant has not produced any cogent material to show that the land in question is forest land. The reliance on the newspaper cuttings is misplaced because from that newspaper cutting, it cannot be ascertained that the news report is in respect of the same project for which the applicant has made allegations in the Application.
That apart, Counsel for respondent no. 1 has pointed out that these news items are dated 18.07.2022 and 25.06.2022 whereas the request for proposal is dated 19.12.2022, much after the news reports. Therefore, the news relating to illegal felling of trees cannot be connected with the present project. Hence,the Bench found that the applicant has not produced any material to show that the subject land is forest land.
The Principal Bench of Justice Prakash Shrivastava , Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Dr. A. Senthil Vel find that the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 has been amended by the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 and amended Section 1(A) does not cover deemed forest. The NGT is of the view that adequate precautions have already been taken to prevent illegal felling of trees. Even otherwise the Bench clarified that respondents during the implementation of the project, will not cut any tree unauthorizedly or illegally and will follow all the environmental norms including compensatory plantation and will carry out the activity on the subject land only with due approval and compliance of the conditions imposed by the environmental authorities.
The post National Green Tribunal dismisses petition challenging proposal issued by Rail Land Development Authority appeared first on India Legal.