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2013 Supreme(Bom) 1866
High Court of Judicature at Bombay
D.Y. CHANDRACHUD & M.S. SONAK, JJ.
Deepak Balkrishna Vahikar & Another
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Others
Public Interest Litigation No.93 of 2009
Decided On : 20-09-2013
For the Petitioners:R.B. Paranjpe with Vishal V. Kale, J.D. Khairnar Advocates.
For the Respondents:A.B. Vagyani, AGP with P.B. Darandale, Assistant to G.P, R2 & R3, A.A. Kumbhakoni with Dr. Sadhana Mahashabde, A.P. Kulkarni, Advocates, Sunil B. Limaye, Director of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Professor Jitendra Shah, Research Scientist, GIC, IIT.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the mandatory duty of the Tree Authority to preserve and protect trees, the interpretation of the Act in line with environmental protection and sustainable development principles, and the requirement for approval before land development.
Headnote:
Trees Act - Effective Implementation - Section 3, Section 5, Section 7, Section 8, Section 9, Section 10, Section 11, Section 12, Section 19 - The judgment discusses the effective implementation of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975. It highlights the duties of the Tree Authority, the process for felling or transplantation of trees, the requirement for approval before land development, and the need for a comprehensive tree census using modern technology.
Fact of the Case:
The Public Interest Litigation was filed to ensure the effective implementation of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975. The city of Pune had experienced a reduction in green cover due to unregulated development, leading to the need for proper implementation of the Act.
Finding of the Court:
The Court found that the Tree Authority failed to fulfill its duty of preserving and protecting trees, primarily due to the absence of non-official organization representatives in the authority. The Court emphasized the importance of environmental protection and sustainable development, interpreting the Act in line with these principles.
Issues: The issues included the failure of the Tree Authority to take timely decisions on tree-related applications, the need for approval before land development, and the delay in conducting a comprehensive tree census.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court emphasized the need for the Tree Authority to fulfill its duty of preserving and protecting trees, and the importance of interpreting the Act in line with environmental protection and sustainable development principles. It also highlighted the mandatory nature of the approval requirement before land development and the importance of conducting a comprehensive tree census using modern technology.
Final Decision: The petition was disposed of, with the Pune Municipal Corporation directed to take necessary steps to ensure the completion of a comprehensive tree census using modern technology and the constitution of the Tree Authority in accordance with the indicated terms.
Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, J.
1. The present Public Interest Litigation has been instituted for the effective implementation of the provisions of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975. In exercise of the powers conferred by the Act, the State Government has framed the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Rules, 2009.
2. The city of Pune covers an area of 243.48 square kilometers. The city has expanded in the last several decades by leaps and bounds resulting in a reduction in the green cover. As the population has expanded, unregulated development has resulted in a rapid deterioration of green areas in the city. The Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975 (`the Act') provides for the establishment of a Tree Authority in Section 3. The Tree Authority is to consist of a Chairperson who is to be the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation and not less than five and not more than fifteen persons from amongst members of the Urban Local Authority. Sub-section 3 of Section 3 provides for the nomination of representatives of civil society organizations with a special knowledge or expertise in the planning and preservation of trees. Section 3(3) provides as follows:
"3. Establishment of Tree Authority :
(1) .........
(2) .........
(3) Every Tree Authority may nominate representatives of non-official organizations, who have special knowledge or practical experience in the field of planting and preservation of trees, as members of the Tree Authority, but the number of such nominated members shall not exceed the number of members appointed under subsection (1). These members shall be nominated in such manner and for such period as may be prescribed"
Presently thirteen Corporators have been nominated as members of the tree authority. There is no representative of any non-governmental organization. There is one tree officer who has been appointed in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 5(1). Section 5(1) empowers an urban local authority to appoint one or more of its officers as tree officers. A tree officer, in the case of Pune Municipal Corporation (`PMC') is a Garden Superintendent. There is one Chief Garden Superintendent who is assisted by one Garden Superintendent and it is proposed to enhance the strength of the latter to two. There are two Assistant Garden Superintendents, four Supervisors and four hundred workmen. The number of Supervisors is proposed to be increased to eight, the number of Horticulture Mistries is proposed to be increased to forty seven, Malis to one hundred and thirty six and the workmen to five hundred and fifty. A proposal has been sent to the State Government for sanction. The area of the PMC is for the purposes of administrative convenience bifurcated into four zones and each one is headed by a Zonal Commissioner of the rank of Deputy Municipal Commissioner. There are seventy six electoral wards which are administered by fifteen ward offices headed by an officer of the rank of Assistant Municipal Commissioner.
3. Section 7 of the Act defines the duties of the Tree Authority as follows :
"7. Duties of Tree Authority : Notwithstanding anything contained in the relevant Act or in any other law for the time being in force, and subject to any special or general directions given by the State Government, the Tree Authority shall be responsible for:
(a) protection and preservation of all trees in all lands within its jurisdiction;
(b) carrying out a census of the existing trees in all lands within its jurisdiction once before December 1996 and thereafter once in every five years;
(c) prescribing standards specifying the number and types of trees which each plot of land shall have and which shall be planted therein;
(d) development and maintenance of nurseries for the supply of seeds, sapplings and trees to persons who desire to plant new trees or to replace trees which have been felled with the previous permi
