Delhi’s symphony of destruction now turns into chirps of hope

A mini green ecosystem that was stripped bare in south Delhi’s Chhattarpur is now showing signs of revival

New Delhi

Trees at Chhattarpur. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

A year on, a new hope.

A mini green ecosystem that was stripped bare in south Delhi’s Chhattarpur is now showing signs of revival: green shoots, soft calls of peacocks and wild grass are cautiously stretching upwards, towards the sunlight, taking in the monsoon rain as conservation efforts seem to be bearing fruit.

A 2.3-kilometre stretch connecting the main Chhattarpur Road to the upcoming AIIMS-CAPFIMS campus was at the centre of the issue last year, as environmentalists estimated around 1,100 trees—many decades-old ones—were hacked between January and March to make a six-lane arterial road for institutional access. Residents alleged that the action was so swift that it seemed the area, overnight, had transformed from a green zone into one of destroyed trees, gravel and tree stumps putting up a futile resistance.

However, the landscape now looks different. While iron fences line both sides of the road, this time, they safeguard hundreds of freshly planted saplings. Tree barks marked in red paint for felling continue to stand, in a type of defiance and a sign of revival.

“It looks alive again,” said Puran Singh, a tea-seller who has manned a small stall near the road since 2016. “I had seen this place when it was full of trees. Then, I saw everything being cut in just a few weeks. It would have caught attention, and then, there was a lot of media, officers and politicians coming here. Suddenly, things became quiet for a while and the authorities started visiting again some months ago. And now... the green is coming back,” he said.

Damage and blame game

The destruction of the green zone unfolded silently, yet rapidly, early last year. A forested narrow two-lane road through Satbari and Maidan Garhi was aggressively widened at the instruction of Delhi’s authorities. Senior officials, including the lieutenant governor (LG) of Delhi, visited the site in February 2024. Internal emails from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), later made public, revealed that officials had instructed staff to “clear bushes, shrubs and dry trees” and expedite the roadwork.

By the time the public caught on, much of the damage was already done. Activists who had been visiting the area estimated that at least 1,100 trees were chopped down, although a February 2024 government notification only acknowledged 422. Environmental activists moved the court, which strongly questioned the legality of the felling, especially since the area falls within the eco-sensitive zone of the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. The DDA vice-chair was summoned by the court, which also held the LG accountable. Work came to a sudden halt.

What followed was a political tug-of-war — forest officials served notices to DDA, Delhi’s environment minister formed a fact-finding committee, and a fresh fault line emerged between elected officials and bureaucrats. In the middle of it all, nature waited.

On May 13, 2024, the Supreme Court asked the DDA to restore greenery in the area, where trees were found chopped. Later in the same case, following compliance, the court dropped charges against senior DDA officials.

Greening

While the damage was already done, the DDA fenced the area and started plantation early this year, but what has followed is a rapid green growth, as if the soil was thirsting for plants to return, and saplings unflinchingly started rising.

“After the rains started in April, we began to see tiny leaves growing from the stumps. At first, we thought they wouldn’t survive, but now they’re everywhere,” said Rehman Ali, a resident of Maidan Garhi. “Even the monkeys and blue bulls are returning. The peacocks are back too — they cry in the mornings and evenings, but sometimes, through the entire day.”

Where the road once wore a scarred look—gravel-lined and empty—the fresh plantations now run along the edge. In some patches, especially near the Gummat temple fork, the vegetation is sparse. But the area is now tinged in green, transforming the landscape entirely.

Many of the old roots that weren’t fully removed have started regenerating alongside new saplings. While the DDA has not officially confirmed the number of saplings planted, HT spotted native species such as neem, jamun and amaltas, among others, at the site along with several shrub species that will form the ground cover.

The road remains a work in progress. Close to 600 metres near the AIIMS-CAPFIMS campus have already been black-topped and finished. A newly constructed stormwater drain system runs alongside it, with reinforcement bars still exposed in some stretches.

Finding the balance

Locals, while unhappy with the mass felling of trees, acknowledge that the locality has a traffic problem, all the way from the Qutub Minar Metro station up to the Chhattarpur Metro station, including all internal roads that fall on the route.

“The road’s physical transformation is nearly complete and people are happy that trees are not being cut down. Even now, the rural parts have much greenery in Delhi. But our area also faces a huge problem of traffic and we were happy about having a broader road. There should be some way that the traffic problem is resolved and road infrastructure is improved without compromising on local ecology,” said Mahavir Dagar, president of the Maidan Garhi Residents Welfare Association.

The Satbari episode has become a case study in urban environmental mismanagement — but now, also in how swift public and legal intervention can pause irreversible damage, according to activists.

An environmental activist who moved the court, but did not wish to be named, said: “This should never have happened in the first place. That it was allowed to go this far without permissions, inside an eco-sensitive zone, tells you everything about the lack of checks. But with the court stepping in, and locals documenting everything — that’s what helped stop it.”

With the matter in court for over a year and top bureaucrats being pulled up, most officials have refused to go on record. But officials in the forest department confirm that no fresh tree cutting has taken place since the stay order.

The DDA did not respond to queries on the matter.

In Delhi’s long list of roads that have been widened by clearing forests and sacrificing biodiversity for development, the Satbari-Gaushala Road stands out, not because of the destruction, but because here, the recovery has begun. It stands as a testament to the resilience of green ecology. Satbari is now more than a road; it is a reminder, a warning and yet, a hope of a green future.

As the evening sun falls on Satbari Road, the iron fences cast long shadows on the gravel. The saplings, still too small to give shade, sway lightly. A blue bull pauses at the edge of the road, staring at a car, before darting into the forest area behind the cleared patch.