New Delhi, Mar 26 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, to have a relook at the budget proposed for preparing action plan for enhancing the national capital's green cover, saying that "certain proposals were on the higher side".

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the FRI can consider taking help from agencies like National Informatics Centre to submit a modified budget to the Delhi government within a month.

"We direct the Delhi government, after receiving the budget, to release part of the amount claimed in the budget estimates so that implementation of Phase 1 can start immediately.

"Even if the government has any queries it can be dealt with. However, the release of the first installment of the amount required for Phase 1 should not be delayed," the bench said.

The court also noted that the definition of tree under The Delhi Preservation Of Trees Act, 1994 is ambiguous and directed the FRI to adopt definition of tree as defined by Forest Survey of India.

"We have carefully perused the action plan proposed by the FRI, which is divided in three phases. We request FRI to reconsider duration of 15 months proposed for Phase 1 so that the work of tree census can be expedited. As regards Phase 3, the time line of 24 months is too long and we direct the FRI to consider curtailing it," the bench said.

The apex court on February 17 had appointed the FRI, Dehradun to prepare an action plan for enhancing the national capital's green cover and gave it one month to file an affidavit setting out timelines and the requirement of funds.

It had earlier directed the Delhi government and the civic agencies to convene a meeting and discuss comprehensive measures on the issue while observing that people were feeling the heat due to the loss of a green cover.

The bench had expected the forest department and the tree authority to keep vigil on the activity of illegal damage to trees in Delhi, the court said. PTI PKS PKS KVK KVK

Tree definition clarity and budget revision required for the capital's green cover plan, with expedited phased implementation urged. The Supreme Court directed FRI to re-examine the budget for an action plan to enhance the capital's green cover and submit a modified estimate within a month, recommending technical assistance from agencies like the National Informatics Centre. The court required the Delhi government to release part of the claimed amount so Phase 1 can start promptly, urged shorter timelines for Phase 1 and Phase 3, and directed FRI to adopt the Forest Survey of India's definition of tree while expecting vigilance against illegal tree damage.