Legal update

On 14th March a ‘miscellaneous petition’ was heard at the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Chennai. The court order, posted on the following weekend, noted the concern of the applicants that the AVFO “is cutting trees even outside the stretch of crown road work/beyond the recommendation of the Joint Committee.” The counsel appearing for the AVFO subsequently stated that the AVFO will not go beyond what is recommended in the Joint Committee report. The RA WC noted that “the NGT has clearly reminded the AVFO to respect the original ruling and the existing Joint Committee report, so only the marked and listed trees within the designated 9.1m in Darkali can be cut.”

The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for the 5th of April to decide whether or not to reconvene the Joint Committee and order them to complete the survey of trees and water bodies on the planned Crown trajectory.