New Delhi: The Ridge Management Board (RMB), which met in July after a year, has approved six projects — construction of a café at Sanjay Van; conservation work on historical monuments in Sanjay Van; laying of sewer lines at Smriti Van; construction of Madhya Pradesh’s state guest house in Vasant Kunj; infrastructure development on defence land in Delhi Cantonment; and expansion of Balak Ram Hospital in Timarpur.The projects will now need the approval of the Central Empowered Committee and the Supreme Court.RMB permitted the construction of MP’s state guest house on a plot allotted by DDA adjacent to the existing state guest house in Vasant Kunj. The project is in the morphological ridge and seeks felling or transplantation of 215 trees.“Necessary approvals under Delhi Preservation of Trees Act (DPTA), 1994 shall be obtained by the user agency for felling or transplantation of trees,” stated the minutes of the meeting. While the RMB was held on July 18, the minutes of the meeting were prepared on Aug 21.Two of the projects involve Sanjay Van, which is part of the south-central ridge and notified as a reserved forest. The first project involves the construction of a water trough and tank, as well as a café made of bamboo for public use. The total area proposed is 60 sqm, and the proposal does not involve felling or transplantation of trees. For the second project, RMB has granted permission to DDA to take up conservation works of existing monument structures at Sanjay Van. The work requires the removal or translocation of 16 trees.The board has also given the nod to the defence ministry for the construction of infrastructure on defence land at Nausena Bhawan in Delhi Cantt. The proposed area is over 8 hectares, falling in the morphological ridge, and no tree felling is involved. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs 450 crore.The fifth project — expansion of Balak Ram Hospital in Timarpur – was proposed by MCD to ensure the smooth passage of emergency vehicles inside the facility. “The proposed project area is 960 sqm. The hospital is already functioning, and nine trees are standing in the passage that runs around the building. These trees are a hindrance in the smooth passage of emergency vehicles,” stated the proposal. The project area falls within the boundary of the geo-morphological ridge.“Necessary approvals under DPTA shall be obtained by the user agency for felling/transplantation of trees,” said RMB as per the minutes of the meeting.It also permitted DDA to lay a sewer line for diverting surplus sewage coming directly into the waterbody at Smriti Van. “This shall help in its ecological restoration and restoration of aquatic biodiversity. The area is part of the south-central ridge and reserve forest, and the existing structure includes store rooms, a decentralised sewage treatment plant, and a small toilet block along with the boundary wall,” said the proposal.
