Delhi PWD in quandary over flyover opening after HC denies nod to cut trees

Delhi HC reprimands forest dept for seeking tree relocation, complicating Anand Vihar flyover opening. PWD plans to open with trees intact amid traffic issues.

With the Delhi high court reprimanding the forest department for even seeking permission to transplant a Neem tree and a jamun tree located in the carriageway of the Anand Vihar flyover last week, the Public Works Department (PWD) now finds itself in a quandary about opening the flyover with trees intact. Traffic movement on the two carriageways is permitted for short periods to alleviate the traffic pressure on surface level, however, the flyover has not been opened formally.

One of the trees in the middle of the carriageway of the flyover between Anand Vihar and Dilshad Garden in New Delhi on Monday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

A senior PWD official said that the department now plans to open the flyover with trees intact and “higher ups” will now take a call regarding the inauguration date.

“The efficacy of the traffic movement with barricades has been tested in trial runs and it would be more beneficial to general public to open the facility rather than waiting for permission to cut trees,” an official said. PWD will add reflective markers, spring board and rumble strips around the trees for the flyover to be opened for traffic during the night.

On Monday afternoon, one of the carriageways of the flyover was closed and the other one with the trees was opened for traffic movement.

“The high court has straightaway denied the permission regarding relocation of these trees. There is not other work pending. We have barricaded the space around the tree and traffic police sometimes allows the vehicular movement based on local needs,” said a PWD official associated with the project.

(Delhi government reaction on formal opening of traffic)

(Forest department quote on further process sought and awaited)

The Delhi high court on Wednesday had reprimanded the city’s forest department for seeking permission to transplant trees for infrastructure projects. The bench expressed its disapproval when the forest department sought permission to transplant three trees located in a deemed forest for constructing a flyover. The court even rejected the Deputy Conservator of Forests’ (DCF) request to withdraw the application and directed the department to file an affidavit clarifying whether the deemed forest status had been considered before filing the plea.

There are two trees – a larger neem (Azadirachta indica) tree and a smaller jamun tree (Syzygium cumini) – on the carriageway going from Anand Vihar to the Apsara border. A third tree in the area is not directly located on the flyover carriageway.

HT had reported on August 29 that PWD has begun trial runs on one carriageway of the Anand Vihar elevated corridor in east Delhi. The department estimates that 148,000 vehicles will pass through this flyover daily. Once fully operational, the six-lane 1,440-metre-long flyover over road number 56 between Anand Vihar and Apsara Border is expected to reduce the traffic load on the stretch and help commuters bypass traffic snarls at Ramprastha Colony, Vivek Vihar and Shreshth Vihar.

Commuters moving along the Anand Vihar and Apsara border meanwhile continue to face congestion despite the project being almost ready. Ajay Gupta, a resident of Vivek Vihar, said that the flyover was ready more than 3-4 months back and the traffic jams are adding to the pollution levels in the area. “The flyover should be opened immediately. There is no point in further waiting. At least, the partial opening will also ease some problem,” he added. Firoz Khan, another commuter, said that it has become a new norm for PWD to open the half-baked project. “PWD had opened only one side of the Bhairon Marg tunnel. Now one carriageway of Anand Vihar has obstruction. These things should be delt with at planning level,” he added.

The Anand Vihar flyover project was planned in 2019, but the pandemic delayed the commencement of construction. The foundation stone was finally laid in October 2022.