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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Delhi Gazette
SG-DL-E-17052025-263174
EXTRAORDINARY
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
No. 148]
DELHI, THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2025/VAISAKHA 25, 1947
[N. C. T. D. No. 48
PART IV
GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF DELHI
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTS AND WILDLIFE
NOTIFICATION
Delhi, the 24th April, 2025
No. F.1(2554)/Legal/HQ/23-23/1022.—In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 33 of the Delhi
Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, in public interest, hereby,
notifies "Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) For Tree Felling / Transplantation under Delhi Preservation of Trees
Act (DPTA), 1994"
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOP) FOR TREE FELLING / TRANSPLANTATION UNDER
DELHI PRESERVATION OF TREES ACT, 1994
The Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") regulates the felling of
trees in NCT of Delhi. The object of the Act is to preserve the trees and not to permit cutting or felling of the trees,
unless necessary. Considering the object of the Act, it is evident that the permission for felling or cutting of the trees
can be granted only by way of an exception and not in a routine manner. The provisions of the Act reiterate the public
trust doctrine, which enjoins the State to protect the natural resources, including the trees.
On a joint reading of Articles 21, 48A and 51A (g) of the Constitution of India, it is apparent that the State is
mandated to protect, improve and safeguard the natural environment. Trees are a vital part of our environment. The
precautionary principle requires the governments to anticipate, prevent, and remedy or eradicate the causes of
environmental degradation, including acting sternly against the violators. Illegal felling of even a single fully grown
tree hurts the environment and the society as a whole.
The aim and objective of the Act, inter alia, is to promote afforestation, reforestation and environmental
protection throughproactive participation of the community, and also to promote a sense of innate ownership amongst
the citizens, towards trees and forests in Delhi.
There are three major parts of the Act. The first part deals with the grant of permissions to fell the trees, the
second part is about the duties of the Tree Authority, and the third part is about penalizing the persons for committing
breaches of the provisions of the Act. There are other provisions, such as the obligation of the owners of the lands to
preserve the trees.
1. IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE DELHI PRESERVATION OF TREES ACT, 1994, RELATED
TO TREE PRESERVATION:
1.1 As per Section 2(i) of the Act "tree” means any woodyplant whose branches spring from and are supported
upon a trunk or body as defined in the Act.
1.2 "To Fell a Tree" has been defined under Section 2(h) of the Act. As per this definition under Section 2(h) of
the Act, "to fell a tree" with its cognate expression, means severing the trunk from the roots, uprooting the
tree and includes bulldozing, cutting, girdling, lopping, pollarding, applying arboricides, burning or
damaging a tree in any other manner.
1.3 Section 8 prohibits felling of trees without permission of the Tree Officer appointed under Section 2(j) of the
Act except in situations where if the tree is not immediately felled, there would be grave danger to life or
property or traffic-in which cases the owner of the land may take immediate action to fell such tree and
report the fact to the Tree Officer within twenty-four hours of such felling.
1.4 The Tree Officer can grant / refuse permission for felling under Section 9(2). Pertinently, under Section 9(3)
proviso, the Tree Officer cannot give permission for felling from the same area on more than two occasions
during the same year subject to a maximum area of 1 hectare.
1.5 Section 11 mandates the land owners to preserve and protect trees on their land which are planted in
compliance of directions issued under Section 10 and the Tree Officer can issue directions for protection of
trees if adequate measures are not taken by the owner.
1.6 Section 29 of the Act empowers the GNCTD to exempt any area or any species of trees from all or any of the
provisions of the Act, in public interest.
1.7 The GNCTD is also empowered to prohibit felling altogether of a class of trees for a specified period under
Section 30 of the Act, and
1.8 Under Section 33 of the Act, the GNCTD can give directions to the Tree Officer, Tree Authority and officers
subordinate to the Tree Authority regarding discharge of their functions for carrying out the purposes of the
Act.
2. DETAILS TO BE PROVIDED BY THE APPLICANT FOR TREE ELLING/TRANSPLANTATION.
2.1. If an applicant, for any other reason, finds that felling/transplantation oftree(s) is necessary, he shall
have to mandatorily provide the following details in the application to be submitted to the Department
of Forest and Wildlife, GNCTD:
i. Duly filled up form in DPTA e-Forest portal in all respect.
ii. Self-attested copy of the registered document of ownership and/or copy of municipal or
revenue record clearly showing details of ownership of the property or jamabandi of land
record issued by the Tehsildar.
iii. NOC from the land owner(s), if applicant is not the land owner.
iv. Enumeration list (species and girth) of trees of the entire area (duly signed by the applicant or
authorized agent of the applicant) including geo-referenced photographs showing the
enumeration number clearly (each tree to be given a unique number by the applicant).
V. Boundary description (duly signed by the applicant).
vi. Undertaking that all other permissions/ approvals, as may be required, have been obtained or
are being obtained.
vii. Details (KML file, area, ownership proof including khasra details) of the site where the trees
are proposed to be transplanted and compensatory plantation proposed to be carried out, if
applicable.
viii. Undertaking to be submitted by the Applicant, clearly stating that the said parcel of land
identified for compensatory plantation is not allotted for any other purpose including for
compensatory plantation / afforestation / transplantation for any other project, if applicable.
ix. Tree Preservation Plan in the prescribed format as per Tree Transplantation Policy, 2020.
X. In case the application is related to a development project, following additional documents (in
addition to above mentioned documents (sl number i. to ix.)) shall also be submitted-
a) Details of other feasible options explored before finalizing the project, if any, to ensure
minimizing the number of trees affected.
b) A copy of the detailed architectural drawings (in .dwg drawing file format showing the khasra
numbers) which includes overlay of trees on to-the-scale layout and alignment of the
proposed project.
3. COMPENSATORY PLANTATION & TRANSPLANTATION
3.1 Section 10 of the Act mandates certain number of trees to be planted for each tree felled/transplanted (to be
called Compensatory Plantation). As a standard for each tree felled/ transplanted, the applicant shall plant
such number of tree saplings of suitable species as specified by the state government from time to time.
3.2 If number of trees to be felled / transplanted by the applicant are less than or equal to twenty-five,
compensatory plantation/transplantation will be carried out, if possible, by the applicant itself: otherwise, for
reasons recorded in writing by the concerned Tree Officer, by the Forest Department for which required
funds will be provided by the applicant for carrying out such plantation/transplantation and its maintenance
for sevenyears.
3.3 For rest of the cases (for felling/ transplantation of more than twenty-five trees), the applicant shall provide
land for compensatory plantation. Applicant shall also bear the cost of raising compensatory plantation and
its maintenance for seven years, over such land, as fixed by the Department of Forests and Wildlife, GNCTD
from time to time.
3.4 The Tree Officer will carry out required due diligence about the land offered for compensatory plantation or
transplantation. It is clarified that enrichment/gap-planting in existing plantations will also be considered
towards compensatory plantation.
3.5 In case the applicant itself carries out the plantation, then an amount in form of security deposit as decided by
the Department of Forests and Wildlife, will be deposited by the applicant with the Tree Officer. The amount
will be refunded (after seven years) by the Tree Officer to the applicant, if plantation (number of trees as
required to be planted) is fully developed as trees in seven years.
3.6 In case the applicant has to raise compensatory plantation but fails to raise successful compensatory
plantation, then the security deposit shall be forfeited by the Tree Officer and the Compensatory Plantation
on the same proposed site shall be carried out by the Forest Department. Further, the Applicant shall be
mandated to deposit extra site improvement expenses, which may be required to make the site suitable for
plantation, as calculated by the Forest Department/Tree Officer concerned.
3.7 For transplantation of Trees, Transplantation Policy 2020 as amended from time to time shall be followed.
3.8 An exercise shall be done by the Applicant to ensure that the compensatory plantation / transplantation is
duly undertaken in the area or in the vicinity of the site itself from where trees are felled, to the extent
possible.
3.9 Each tree planted or transplanted will be geo-tagged and the details of the plantation carried out will be
uploaded on the portal of the Forest Department. Yearly progress of plantation (geo-referenced photographs
with date) will be uploaded against concerned tree felling permission by the agency carrying out the
plantation.
4. CONSIDERATION OF THE APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 9(1) FOR
FELLING/TRANSPLANTATION UNDER THE DPTA, 1994 BY THE TREE OFFICER
4.1 The basic function and duty of the Tree Officers is to preserve the trees and, therefore, only in case of
necessity and for good reasons the permission for felling/transplantation of trees shall be granted.
4.2 A copy of the application for felling/transplantationof the trees along with land details will be mandatorily
sent by the Tree Officer to MCD or NDMC or DDA or Cantonment Board under whose jurisdiction the
said area falls, for their information. These authorities may submit their observations/ objections, if any to
the CEC within two weeks in case the number of trees to be felled/transplanted are 50 or more, otherwise
to the Tree Officer, from the date of receipt of the application.
4.3 The Tree Officer after visiting the site will decide whether the felling or trans-location of the trees as sought
by the applicant is necessary. The Tree Officersshall makean effort to save as many trees as possible. The
Tree Officers shall consider whether; by pruning or by some other methods, the trees can be saved from
felling/transplantation.
4.4 The approved layout plan of the project area submitted by the Applicant on the DPTA e-Forest portal
including the building plan, road and other structures, etc. shall be demarcated on the ground (on the scale
of 1:1) by the Applicant. The enumeration list of trees (each tree will be given a unique number) submitted
by the applicant, for the project area which includes trees to be saved, transplanted and felled, on the
DPTA e-Forest portal shall be jointly verified and authenticated on the ground, by the Tree Officer and the
Applicant.
4.5 The Tree Officer shall carefully examine and inspect all the trees in the project area to arrive at the bare
minimum number of trees to be felled/transplanted. After this exercise, the Tree Officer shall finalize the
list of trees to be saved, transplanted and felled.
4.6 Once the trees list is authenticated and finalized for felling/transplantation, the Applicant will 'mark' the trees
with paint in the form of two rings around the concerned tree i.e. 'Yellow' for trees to be transplanted and
'Red' for trees to be felled.
4.7 A Speaking Order to be issued by the Tree Officer for felling/ transplantation under the Act. The permission
for felling/ transplantation will be valid for a period of two years, which may be extended if proper
justification is furnished by the applicant. On expiry of the validity of the permission, the Applicant shall
apply afresh for the permission.
4.8 The proviso to sub-Section (3) of Section 9 reads thus:
"9. Procedure for obtaining permission to fell, cut, remove or dispose of a tree -
(3). ....... Provided that no permission shall be granted to any person from the same area on
more than two occasions during the same year subject to a maximum area of one hectare at a
time."
4.9 If the Tree Officer finds that a second application is made in the same year in respect of the same area for the
felling of trees and the total number of trees covered by the first and second applications exceeds 49, even
4.10 if the permission sought by the second application is in respect of fewer than 50 trees, the permission
granted on the second application shall not be acted upon unless the same is vetted and approved by the by
the Central Empowered Committee (for short, "the CEC").
The Tree Officer shall not entertain any application under Section 9 of the Act unless there is a declaration
supported by documents about the number of applications made under Section 9 of the Act in that
particular year (Calendar Year) regarding the same property.
4.11 The sub-Section (4) of Section 9 of the Act, has been stayed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court by the order
dated 19/12/2024,in the Writ Petition(s) (Civil) No 4677/1985 M.C. Mehta vs UoI, and therefore shall not
be applicable for applications submitted for the tree felling/transplantation.
5. ADDITIONALCONDITIONS FOR FELLING/TRANSPLANTATION OF 50 OR MORE TREES
5.1 Whenever a Tree Officer grants permission for the felling/transplantation of 50 or more trees in accordance
with Section 8 read with Section 9 of the Act, the said permission shall not be acted upon unless the same
is approved by the CEC.
5.2 Whenever the Tree Officer under the Act grants permission for the felling/ transplantation of 50 or more
trees, immediately after granting such permission, the Tree Officer shall forward the entire record of the
application along with a copy of the permission to the CEC. Upon receipt of the documents, it will be open
for the CEC to call upon the concerned Tree Officer to furnish additional information and additional
documents, as required.
5.3 The CEC will carefully consider the applications and all relevant aspects and will decide whether the
permission deserves to be granted or whether any modification is required to the permission or the terms
and conditions imposed under the permission.The CEC, after examining the entire case, may either allow
or reject the application, may allow the application partly and/or modify the terms and conditions on which
permission is proposed to be granted by the Tree Officer.
5.4 While granting permission to fell/ transplant 50 or more trees, unless the case is exceptional, actual tree-
cutting work shall not be undertaken unless compliance is made with the requirement of planting trees by
way of compensatory afforestation. After receiving orders of the CEC, the Tree officers shall amend the
orders passed by them to give effect to the order of the CEC.
5.5 On the requisition being made by the CEC, the project proponent or the applicant who makes an
application under Section 9 of the Act shall be bound to appear before the CЕС.
5.6 All the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the Judgement dated 19/12/2024 in the Writ Petition(s)
(Civil) No 4677/1985 M.C. Mehta vs UoI will be followed bythe Tree Officer on case-to-casebasis. These
directions/SOPs are applicable w.e.f. 19.12.2024 and will also apply to all the pending applications under
Section 8, read with Section 9 of the Act.
5.7 These SOPs have also been concurred by the CEC for felling/ transplanting of 50 or more trees.
5.8 In case of any illicit felling of 50 or more trees, the CEC will be informed by the Tree Officer within
twenty-four hours of receipt of such information by the Tree Officer.
By Order and in the Name of the Lt. Governor of
National Capital Territory of Delhi
A.K. SINGH, Principal Secy. (Environment & Forests)
Annexure-1
Model indicative Permission Order under DPTA, 1994 for felling / transplantation of trees
(to be modified by the Forest Department as per the requirement)
Subject: Permission for Transplantation of Trees
WHEREAS, application no. ....... on DPTA e-Forest portal has been received from ........ regarding
transplantation of......(number of trees).....trees and felling of ............number of trees for ............(purpose)
under Section 9 of Delhi Preservation of Trees 1994 Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred as 'the Act').
AND WHEREAS, list of all trees to be transplanted and felled with details of name of the trees, girth
measurement, geo-coordinates along with photographs was received in this office and found to be in order.
AND WHEREAS, a Tree Preservation Plan made in accordance with the Tree Transplantation Policy 2020
highlighting the steps that would be undertaken to ensure survival of transplanted trees was submitted by the
applicant.
AND WHEREAS after the approval of Central Empowered Committee (hereinafter referred as 'CEC')
dated........ the Government of NCT Delhi vide order No...........dated......., has exempted condition of Sub
section (3) of Section 9 of DPTA under Section 29 of the Act (If applicable).
AND WHEREAS, the details of the project were drawn on the site by the Applicant and inspection of the
project site was carried out and the list of trees to be felled and transplanted were further refined so that more trees can
be saved.
AND WHEREAS, all the trees to be affected by the project were found to be numbered and the submitted
trees list was finalized after due diligence.
AND WHEREAS, Compensatory Plantation site proposed at -----(name of the site) ----- was inspected by
the field staff and was found suitable and sufficient to plant .......... number of tree saplings of ----(list of species)
OR
AND WHEREAS, Compensatory Plantation site proposed at -----(name of the site) ----- has been provided
by the Forest Department/...........Department (in case of deemed forest), and was found suitable and sufficient to
plant .......... number of tree saplings of ----(list of species). Further UA has deposited the required amount of Rs---
----for such Compensatory Plantation.
AND WHEREAS, Transplantation site proposed at -----(name of the site)------ was inspected and was found
suitable for transplantation of ............number of trees.
AND WHEREAS, ----(name of UA)-----has deposited a security amount of Rs. ........ with Department of
Forests & Wildlife, GNCTD for transplantation of ............ trees.
AND WHEREAS approval of the CEC (as and where applicable) has been received vide letter no.........
dated......
NOW THEREFORE, the permission is granted for transplantation of ----Nos---- of trees and felling of ----
Nos---- of trees subject to fulfilment of terms & conditions Annexed.
DETAILS OF TREES TO BE TRANSPLANTED AND FELLED
+-----+-----------------+--------------------------+--------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| S.N.| Species of Trees| S.No. of tree as per | Location of Trees | Reason for |
| | | application | (with geo coordinates) | Transplantation / felling |
+=====+=================+==========================+======================================+==============================+
| 1. | | | | |
+-----+-----------------+--------------------------+--------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 2. | | | | |
+-----+-----------------+--------------------------+--------------------------------------+------------------------------+
Annexure-2
MODEL INDICATIVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR TRANSPLANTATION/FELLING
(To be modified by the Forest Department as per the requirement from time to time.Conditions shall be as
per the Act and the approved SOPs)
INDICATIVE LIST OF SPECIFIC AND GENERAL CONDITIONS TO BE STIPULATED WHILE
GRANTING PERMISSION UNDER THE DPTA, 1994 FOR FELLING / TRANSPLANTING
Specific Conditions
1. The compensatory plantation of ---- number of trees permitted for felling/ transplantation should be
completed by the Applicant at the site ......... for which refundable security deposit of amount
........... will be deposited by the Applicant with the Forest Department. If the applicant carries out
compensatory plantation successfully and maintains the plantation for 07 (seven) years, the Security Deposit
amount will be refunded afterwards. If the success percentage of the plantation is less than 100%,
theamount of security deposit proportionate to the percentage of failure of plantation will be forfeited and
the Forest Department will raise the Compensatory Plantation equal to the failed number of saplings at the
same site or at another site as may be decided by the Tree Officer. No interest will be paid on the amount of
the Security Deposit refunded to the applicant. However, the actual amount required for such plantation and
its seven-year maintenance etc at the time of the refund will be deducted.
2. If the Applicant fails to carry out the plantation at the earmarked site within a period as specified by the tree
officer, the plantation and its maintenance will be carried out by the Forest Department at the same site at
the cost of the applicant. The applicant will hand over the site to the Forest Department along with the
required funds as calculated by the Forest Department.
General Conditions:
i. The permission is valid for a period of two years, which is extendable, on valid reasons, for one more year.
ii. If Applicant is doing Compensatory Plantation, a detailed plantation schedule shall have to be submitted by
the applicant in compliance with section 12 of the Act.
iii. All related directions issued, or may be issued by any Hon'ble Court and/or any competent authority must be
complied with by the Applicant.
iv. The applicant will intimate to the office of Tree Officer at least 3 days in advance before commencing the
felling/transplantation.
V. Permission to fell/ transplant the trees is granted at Applicant's own risk and without prejudice to the claim(s)
of any person/s who may be having any right(s) over the land or the trees.
vi. The translocated trees should be appropriately spaced.
vii. All the conditions specified in transplantation policy, 2020 must be complied by the applicant.
viii. Felling/Transplantation of any tree which has a nest of a bird, squirrel or snake pit shall not be carried out till
the nest/pit is abandoned.
ix. Lops and Tops arising out of pruning may be sent to the nearest public cremation ground and a copy of the
receipt may be sent to the Tree Officer.
Χ. The Applicant must ensure that the protected trees are not disturbed during the construction / development of
the project.
xi. The applicant will take adequate precautions and be fully responsible for any accident that might happen
during felling / transplantation of trees.
xii. For felling of trees from the project land, if any compensation is to be paid to the land-owning agency, the
same shall be borne and settled by the project implementing Agency.
Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi-110064
and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi-110054.
Digitally signed by GORAKHA NATH
Date: 2025.05.17 10:45:58 +05'30'
GORAKHA NATH YADAVA YADAVA