HC directs Haryana power utilities to plant 50,000 trees in 6 months
In a direction rooted in environmental preservation, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the three power utilities in Haryana to plant 50,000 trees across the state within six months with active coordination from the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. “The sustained presence of trees will offer immeasurable advantage to even successive generations,” Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri asserted.
The direction came on in a bunch of 38 petitions – 30 against the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), five against Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and three against Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL).
Justice Puri asserted that 30,000 trees, as such, would be planted by UHBVNL, and 10,000 each by DHBVNL and HVPNL.
The court made it clear that the plantation would preferably comprise trees having medicinal value. The utilities were also directed to identify areas most in need of plantation, depending on soil type, topography, and tree variety, in consultation with Forest Department.
The entire plantation exercise was directed to be completed within six months from receipt of the order’s certified copy. The respondent utilities were also being directed to supervise the growth of the trees at their own cost for the next three years. They were further asked to ensure replacements, if required, from time to time.
Justice Puri further directed that a report on the number of surviving trees would be submitted to it with certification from the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, first after the six-month period and again after three years. The registry was directed to list the matter for compliance in January 2026 and subsequently in January 2029.
The judgment was also directed to be forwarded to the Chief Secretary, Secretary, Union Department of Personnel and Training, and Haryana Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, apart from other official respondents in all connected cases.
In a batch of 38 writ petitions, the Punjab and Haryana High Court examined serious procedural irregularities by quasi-judicial and administrative authorities in matters relating to service jurisprudence. The court found that the method and process adopted by these authorities deviated from settled principles of administrative law.
The directions came as Justice Puri observed that orders were passed by officials who lacked the jurisdiction to do so. To legitimise such actions, the officials included notes claiming that the orders were passed “with the approval of the competent authority”. But the so-called approvals were often mere ‘notings’ on the files, without any formal or speaking orders. In some instances, the competent authority’s “approval” consisted of a single word or a one-line note, which lower authorities used to issue detailed orders.
Justice Puri flagged cases where the same official acted as the original, appellate, and revisional authority — raising concerns under the principle of “nemo judex in causa sua” (no one should be a judge in their own cause). The court also found a consistent violation of audi alteram partem (right to be heard), with appellate orders issued in a mechanical, copy-paste manner.
Haryana Tribune