The axe effect

Several trees go missing from DDA Sports Complex in south Delhi, police pass the buck

On the morning of May 6, when Devendra Kumar Gupta, a wildlife activist, came horse riding at the DDA Sports Complex in Saket, he found some trees missing near theu00a0 extreme end of the compound.
"I photographed the entire area and filed a complaint with the police but theyu00a0 refused to register a case, asking me to approach the forest officials," said Gupta.

Gupta added that around 22 trees were cut down by workers of a construction company who are renovating the sports complex for the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to take place in October this year.

"I informed the Chief Conservator of Forest, D M Shukla, about the incident who asked me to file a written complaint with the Deputy Conservator of Forest (south division), Prabhat Tyagi. Forest officials visited the spot four days later and issued a notice to the junior engineer and assistant engineer of the sports complex but no action was taken against the contractor of the construction company or the secretary of the DDA Sports Complex.

They even counted fewer fallen trees than I had detected. I again approached the DCF after which the officials visited the complex again on Tuesday and the count of trees cut was now pegged at 33," he said.
"The construction company had cut the trees on the intervening night of May 5 and 6 and they had covered the stumps with concrete to avoid detection," Gupta alleged.

When contacted, the Deputy Conservator of Forest (south division), Prabhat Tyagi said, "We are conducting investigations into the matter and we will take action against all those who are found guilty."

Meanwhile, an official with the forest division, requesting anonymity said, "The officials can't get away as under section 23 of the Forest Act, no agency or officials can be absolved of charge after any incident took place on their land as they are the caretakers of the land."

A senior police officer said that they had received a complaint in this regard but they had not registered a case as the matter comes under the jurisdiction of forest officials.

Reign of errors?
A decorated German mare Jasmine Star died a painful death at the Saket DDA Sports Complex last week, after a ditch dug by the authority came between her and medical care. The mare had been suffering with stomach ailment for some time and died early on May 12 after she couldn't be moved from the complex as all the entrance and exit points were practically sealed, because of renovation work for the Commonwealth Games. Jasmine was bought from Germany by her owner Surender Salot from a Colonel, who had got her from Germany to Mussoorie for Rs 70 lakh. She had won four prizes at the Delhi Horse Show held in April.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0