Delhiites Protest Govt’s Plan to Cut Trees, Ministry Clarifies

A campaign ‘Delhi Trees SoS’ called for citizens to raise their voice against the felling of trees.

(Photo Courtesy: Trek India)

Nearly 17,000 trees are likely to be chopped-off for redevelopment of central government accommodations in south Delhi, an anonymous source told PTI on Wednesday, 20 June.

The trees would be cut in various areas, including Nauroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar and Sarojini Nagar, said the official, adding that 11,000 trees would be cut in Sarojni Nagar alone.

According to the Environmental Impact Assessment report, around 1,454 trees would be felled in Nauraji area and 3,906 trees in Netaji Nagar.

An official of the National Building Construction Corporation India Limited, a central public sector undertaking, said they planned to plant over 10 times the number of trees that would be cut in the process.

According to an NBCC report, the plantation would be done two weeks after the rains start, as the trees benefit from the seasonal rains.

Govt Clarifies Reports

Clarifying reports, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, in a statement, said “14,031 trees are to be cut out of the existing 21,040 trees.”

The Ministry added that the redevelopment would lead to "an increase in the green area coverage by about three times...and the compensatory plantation of trees will be done in the ratio of 1:10, thereby resulting in an enhanced tree-coverage area".

The ministry also said that to compensate for the felling of the trees, 1,35,460 trees would be planted, resulting in an "urban forest", which would help generate oxygen and reduce the pollution levels in the city.

In Sarojini Nagar, 8,322 of the 11,913 trees would be cut while in Nauroji Nagar, 1,465 of the 1,513 tress would be chopped, reported PTI, quoting the statement.

In Netaji Nagar, 2,315 of the 3,906 trees would be cut, while in Mohammadpur, 562 trees would be felled. In Kasturba Nagar, 723 trees, in Sriniwaspuri, 750 trees and in Tyagraj Nagar, 93 trees would be cut, the statement said.

Petition Started to Save Trees

Meanwhile, a campaign called ‘Delhi Trees SoS’ urged citizens to raise their voice against the felling of trees. It was started by activist Juhi Saklani on Tuesday, 19 June, and garnered 14,000 signatures in less than two days.

Over the past week, the air quality in Delhi was deemed “severe”. So severe that the Delhi High Court sought the response of the Delhi government to combat the “emergency-like pollution situation”. In the midst of this crisis comes news that the forest department gave permission to the NBCC to chop off 16,500 trees, as part of a plan to redevelop seven neighbourhoods in the city.

Save Delhi’s Trees Petition

The petition states that the citizens still had the chance to save the trees, if they wanted to.

“Compensatory Plantations Won’t Work”

NBCC Chairperson AK Mittal sought to reassure citizens by saying that the new housing complexes will be kept as green as possible, and promised compensatory plantations, reported The Times of India.

As per Forest Department guidelines, ten saplings have to be substituted for every tree cut. However, activist Padmavati Dwivedi hit out at the government, saying compensatory plantations have never been a successful solution for cutting old trees.

We have never seen compensatory plantation to be a successful solution for cutting old trees. Given Delhi’s pollution levels, it is necessary that old trees are not uprooted.

Padmavati Dwivedi

Environmental lawyer Aditya Prasad said that the move would be nothing short of "suicidal".

"There is no place to grow for compensatory plantations in Sarojini Nagar, Nauroji Nagar and Netaji Nagar. Given the spiking pollution levels, the move would be suicidal," said Prasad.

“Many Faces of Madness”

Social entrepreneur and environmentalist Vimlendu Jha took to Facebook to point out that the Centre’s decision comes at a time when Delhi is reeling under unprecedented levels of pollution and 90 percent of city’s groundwater is in critical condition.

Nikhil Pahwa, founder of Delhi-based portal Medianama, took to Twitter, stating that fewer trees cause more dust.

(With inputs from PTI, The Times of India)