Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj speaks to the media at the party office on Monday. | Photo credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday demanded the resignation of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, alleging that he had approved the illegal felling of around 1,100 trees for construction of a road in the protected southern ridge and adjoining Satbari area.

The party also demanded a high-level investigation into the case and said all the facts must be presented to the Supreme Court to ensure that action is taken against all those responsible for the illegal act, including the LG.

Raj Niwas did not respond to the allegations.

The AAP’s demand comes a day after the party asked Mr Saxena to come clean and say that he was either “complicit” in the illegal action or had “wilfully ignored” it.

A case on the issue is currently being heard in the Supreme Court, which had earlier reprimanded the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for not taking permission from the authority before felling the trees. Mr. Saxena is the chairman of the authority.

On July 12, the top court had directed the DDA to file a detailed affidavit stating whether it had appointed the contractor to cut the trees on the basis of a verbal instruction given by the LG on February 3 during his visit to the site or whether it was an independent decision of the autonomous body.

In addition, the contractor who had felled the trees was asked to submit a separate response indicating on whose behalf the trees had been felled.

At a press conference, Delhi’s Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj called on the city council to debate the issue.

He told reporters that the contractor’s affidavit showed that the forest department officials initially denied them permission but later gave them verbal instructions to cut down the trees.

“Verbal orders given”

The minister said the contractor had stated in his affidavit that forest rangers came to the site and did not allow them to cut the trees “due to lack of permission from the competent authority”, which in this case is the Supreme Court.

“On February 13, foresters stopped them and said they did not have permission to do so. But on February 14, the forest department verbally informed the contractor that the trees could be cut. This simply means there was pressure from higher authorities,” said Mr Bharadwaj, adding that officials had earlier told the court “a blatant lie” that the trees were cut down due to “confusion over permission”.

“DDA knew the status”

“When the LG visited the area on February 3, the forest department and the DDA knew that there was no permission to cut the trees,” he added.

The minister said two emails submitted by the DDA to the Supreme Court showed that the authority’s chief engineer had informed the chief engineer that the LG had visited the construction site on February 3 and ordered that “all trees blocking the road should be cut down”.

“What greater proof can one adduce than this? The LG has been exposed,” he said, claiming that Mr Saxena had the trees felled by “pressurising officials and deceiving the Supreme Court”.

“The LG should resign immediately as he has been exposed outside Delhi. The emails reveal that the trees were felled on his orders,” the minister claimed.

“An investigation at the highest level is required”

AAP’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh also alleged that Mr Saxena wanted to help “some billionaires” whose farmhouses are in the area.

“He doesn’t care about the environment, he doesn’t care about the trees and he doesn’t care about the people of Delhi,” Mr Singh said.

“A high-level inquiry must be ordered into this matter and all facts must be presented to the Supreme Court. Action must be taken against all those responsible, including the LG,” he said.

The politician said the investigation was necessary because the trees had been cut down to save the farmhouses of rich people in the forest area.