Two earthmovers seized from pvt farm in S Delhi for felling trees | Latest News Delhi

New Delhi

Delhi’s forest and wildlife department seized two earthmovers from a private farmland in south Delhi’s Sainik Farms area on Thursday for allegedly illegally felling trees, officials said. They are investigating the total number of trees and will initiate action under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act (DPTA), 1994.

Officials aware of the matter said the department deployed its quick reaction teams around 4pm on Thursday, upon receiving videos and images of possible deforestation. While earthmovers were spotted, there was no fallen tree in the media, they said.

“Two earthmovers were seized by the team on Thursday evening. While no fallen tree was found immediately, it is believed trees were likely cleared by these earthmovers for possible construction. This was not part of the southern ridge, but a private farm,” a senior forest official, not wishing to be named, said.

“Since no permission was taken from the forest department to fell trees, action will be initiated under the DPTA. Had this been forest land, the Indian Forest Act would have applied,” the official added.

Sainik Farm is located to the south of Saket and forms a part of the southern ridge. In 2001, the Delhi high court ordered a ban on all types of construction in the area.

Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmental activist, said protecting Delhi’s green lungs should be a priority for agencies.

“Unchecked, illegal construction and encroachments are rapidly destroying the last remaining green cover and wildlife in a city already gasping under severe air pollution. The forest department needs to be urgently strengthened, with more personnel, better equipment, and proper training to effectively tackle such on-ground crises. Conservation cannot be an afterthought; but need to be a priority,” she said.

Over 300 hectares of the southern ridge are still encroached upon in Delhi, according to the latest data shared by the state forest department with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last month.

Delhi has four prominent ridge areas, with the total area under it classified as reserved forests, spread across 7,784 hectares. The largest of them is the southern ridge, which accounts for over 6,200 hectares, followed by the central Ridge, which spans 864 hectares. The south central ridge in Mehrauli is spread over an area of 626 hectares and the northern ridge spans 87 hectares. Additionally, the Nanakpura south-central ridge has an area of seven hectares.