Tree cover in Delhi increases from 19.97 to 23  percent

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that since the AAP came to power in Delhi the tree cover has increased from 19.97 to 23  percent due to “massive afforestation” drives in the city.

Delhi is the first and only state of India to implement a Tree Transplantation Policy and under the policy, it has mandated the transplantation of at least 80  percent of trees at a project site in the national capital.

“The Delhi Government is very serious about the environment, as a result of which the tree cover of Delhi has increased from 19.97 percent to 23 percent. Despite continuous development, the tree cover area in Delhi has not decreased in comparison to other cities of the country but instead has increased throughout” Kejriwal said after inspecting the transplanted trees at Mayur Vihar’s Gharoli Dairy Park.

“After the implementation of the Tree Transplantation Policy, 54 percent of the transplanted trees have survived” he added.

“We are radically planting new trees all over Delhi alongside transplanting big trees. 190 out of 220 trees are thriving lush and green here. Previously only ten new trees were required to be planted on the cutting of a tree; now it is mandatory to transplant 80% old trees and plant 10 new ones” he said.

To implement the policy at the ground level Delhi government has formed a Tree Transplantation Cell, which monitors the transplantation of trees.  In some places, to understand the success and failure of transplantation, audits will be conducted by Forest Research Institute, Dehradun.

He emphasized that the government ensured that the construction of infrastructure necessary for the development and service of the citizens does not take place at the cost of environmental degradation.

Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, “our government’s goal is to increase the amount of green area in Delhi as much as possible in order to alleviate the city’s pollution problem. The greenery created by transplantation will undoubtedly benefit Delhi residents’ ecosystem while also promoting biodiversity conservation.”

Earlier, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came to inspect the Gharoli Dairy Park developed this park in 2021, and it has since grown into a lovely park.

Officials claim that 220 trees have been transplanted in Gharoli Dairy Park, with 190 of them surviving. Delhi is the first state in the country to implement this tree transplantation policy.

According to the government data, the per capita forest cover for Delhi is 9.6 percent, compared to 7.2 for other metropolitan cities, 7.2 for Hyderabad, 8.2 for Mumbai, 5.4 for Mumbai, 2.1 for Chennai, and 0.1 for Kolkata.

The Delhi government launched the Tree Transplantation Policy in October 2020.

According to the policy, if one tree is cut, then 10 new saplings have to be planted. The organization will be responsible for the transplantation of trees, which will also ensure that 80 percent of the total number of transplanted trees survive after one year of transplantation.

The Delhi government has given approval for over 80 projects where trees were affected.  The Forest and Wildlife Department has ensured that 80 percent of those trees are transplanted at suitable places.