In the wake of the Supreme Court's directive barring Delhi and three other states from granting fresh mining permissions in the Aravallis without its approval, the Court has taken a firm stance against the Delhi Development

Authority's tree-cutting activities in the Ridge area, an extension of the Aravalli range. Consequently, it has initiated contempt proceedings against the vice chairman of the Delhi Development Authority.

During Wednesday's proceedings, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) mentioned to the court that 458 trees had been felled on forested land in the southern section of the ridge in South Delhi to facilitate road widening.

Addressing the matter on Thursday, the bench, comprising Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, characterized the DDA's actions as not only a "willful violation of the orders of this court and disobedience to the law" but also as "interference in the administration of justice," particularly since the court had previously rejected its request to cut down the trees.

Criticizing DDA Vice-Chairman Subhasish Panda, the bench highlighted that the DDA was well aware that tree felling required the court's permission and deliberately concealed the fact that the felling had commenced in February of this year.