Delhi govt clears transplantation of 1,049 trees, felling of 42 for Sarojini Nagar housing project

New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) The Delhi forest department has granted permission to the NBCC to transplant 1,049 trees and cut down 42 trees for redevelopment of the General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) colony in Sarojini Nagar, according to an official document. Environment activists, however, raised concerns over the move, questioning the survival rate of transplanted trees and saying loss of tree cover poses the risk of greater climate vulnerability. According to the order document issued June 19, the permission was granted under Section 9 of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, after scrutiny of the proposal and site inspections by the tree officer. It says the number of affected trees was reduced from 1,218 to 1,170 after 48 trees were found to be outside the project area. Subsequently, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) directed that another 79 trees be saved, bringing the final number of affected trees to 1,091. The order states that 1,049 trees will be transplanted while permission has been granted to fell 42 trees. NBCC Limited, formerly National Buildings Construction Corporation, has been directed to undertake compensatory plantation of 10,910 indigenous saplings at Bharat Vandana Park in Dwarka and transplant the 1,049 trees at the same site, the document said. The permission requires compliance with the Tree Transplantation Policy, 2020, and mandates that geo-tagged photographs of the transplantation process be uploaded on the official forest department portal. Annual progress reports are also to be submitted to the tree officer, the order said. It directed transplanted trees be properly spaced and no tree with an active bird, squirrel or snake nest be felled or transplanted until the nest has been abandoned. It also directed the agency to implement soil moisture conservation measures at the transplantation site and ensure that protected trees are not disturbed during construction. The order further states that if transplanted trees fail to survive, NBCC will have to plant indigenous tree species with a minimum stem diameter of six inches in a 1:5 ratio at its own cost and submit a completion report to the tree officer. The permission is valid for two years and may be extended by one year on valid grounds. The order also requires the agency to comply with directions issued by courts, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), and obtain all statutory clearances before beginning tree transplantation or felling. Reacting to the development, environmental activists questioned the survival rate of transplanted trees. Activist Bhavreen Kandhari said the order once again shows "that government sees trees as obstacles to development rather than essential public infrastructure". "Every mature tree lost means higher temperatures, poorer air quality, reduced biodiversity and greater climate vulnerability. And clearly we are facing all these difficulties. We need development that works with nature, not against it," she said. Kandhari said while the permission contains conditions relating to compensatory plantation and transplantation, citizens have repeatedly seen that survival rates of transplanted trees are "rarely monitored transparently". "Until there is independent auditing and long-term public disclosure of transplanted trees, these permissions to transplant are just a licence to kill," she alleged. Verhaen Khanna from the New Delhi Nature Society said, "Compensatory plantation is not real compensation at all, there have been multiple documented cases where such plantations existed only on paper. It is also well documented that courts have repeatedly found forest department officials failing to apply their mind while granting these permissions. In this context, this clearance is simply more bad news for Delhi." He said the city already suffers the highest air pollution in the world and extreme heat. "Trees are our only real defence against both. We are already losing five trees every hour in this city. Losing over a thousand trees in one sweep is devastating. Delhi becomes uninhabitable in summer because of heat and in winter because of pollution. When will this tree felling stop, he questioned. "When only one tree remains? Will that last tree also be cut for some project? When every tree is gone, will the projects finally stop? How will life continue?" PTI SGV ARB ARB