The National Green Tribunal has sharply criticised the Delhi Forest Department for failing to act against illegal tree felling in the national capital and directed officials to compile a five-year database of such cases across the city.
The tribunal issued the order while hearing a case related to the cutting of 40 trees near the Mangolpuri-Sultanpuri drain in outer Delhi in 2023. The case was originally filed by Vijay Kumar, president of a residents’ welfare organisation in Sultanpuri, who alleged that officials linked to the Delhi government were involved in the illegal felling.
In its judgment released on May 14, the NGT described the situation as a “very sorry state of affairs” and said authorities responsible for protecting trees had failed both to prevent illegal cutting and to take timely action afterward.
The bench, comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Dr Afroz Ahmed, directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Delhi, to ensure that tree officers respond promptly to complaints related to illegal felling.
The tribunal also instructed the Delhi Forest Department to supervise the plantation of 400 native trees in the Mangolpuri-Sultanpuri area as compensatory afforestation for the trees cut in 2023. Additionally, it ordered the Delhi Police to register an FIR against those responsible for the tree cutting.
According to the case records, Kumar had first approached the NGT in 2023 alleging that officials from the Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Department were illegally using JCB machines to cut hundreds of trees near the drain area. The complaint also accused senior engineers of selling mature tree trunks for profit.
Although the designated tree officer, the Deputy Conservator of Forests for North Division, acknowledged the offence, the tribunal noted that no concrete action was taken against the alleged perpetrators for nearly two years.
Under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, tree felling without permission is a punishable offence in Delhi.
In March 2025, Kumar reportedly wrote to the Supreme Court of India alleging fresh incidents of tree cutting in the same locality and accusing both the forest department and irrigation department of corruption and inaction.
The matter was later transferred to the NGT which took suo motu cognisance and ordered a joint inspection by the Delhi Forest Department, the District Magistrate, and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
The inspection confirmed signs of 40 felled trees from the 2023 incident. Following the findings, the Deputy Conservator of Forests directed the irrigation department in September 2025 to plant 400 compensatory trees. However, the NGT observed that the plantation had still not been completed.
The tribunal said it had noticed similar delays in other environmental cases as well where authorities failed to promptly enforce compensatory afforestation orders.
The NGT has now directed the Delhi Forest Department to compile detailed data on illegal tree felling cases over the last five years, take corrective action, and submit a compliance report within three months.