Plant trees in forest area you cleared: Court to officials

“The Deputy Conservator of Forests is directed to replace the per cent uprooted plantation and also replace/replant 40 per cent causality caused due to non-maintenance of plantation at Qutabgarh City Forest,” said Senior Civil Judge Ajay Goel.

The court chose not to address the contentions between the two parties and asked the officials to follow the orders on plantation.

The court noted that petitioner,Satinder Kaur,had not pressed for any recovery of the money that she could have spent on plantation and maintenance of the plants,but limited her plea to directives to the department to undo the damage.

“The decree sought can be termed as against the office of Deputy Conservator of Forests,who is duty bound to maintain the plantation,” said the judge.

As per the suit filed by Kaur,she was given a contract for maintenance of plantations at Qutabgarh City Forest in April 2008. However,a dispute arose between her and the department officials over payments.

Consequently,between May 12 and 14,2009,the guard of the forest along with a few labourers uprooted approximately 15 per cent of the plantation when Kaur’s labourers were absent from work.