Infrastructure development is the need of the hour for a metropolis like Delhi but one of the negative aspects of this is the large number of trees that have to be cut down to make way for these projects. To take care of this problem the government has come up with a new guideline wherein the agency responsible for the respective project will have to plant 10 trees for every tree that they cut down.

For this the Delhi Government is developing a protected forest for which land has already been earmarked and work is to begin soon. At the moment the two main agencies carrying out these infrastructure projects in Delhi are the Public Works department (PWD) and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Both these agencies have been allotted 32 and 58 acres of land respectively in Bawana for planting saplings.

According to officials the objective was to have this area function as a ‘green lung’ for the city and tree species like Neem, Pilkha, and Peepal had already been shortlisted for planting in this forest.

In addition to the protected forest, the PWD has also floated the idea of a PWD forest which would rid it of the problem of red tape and delays in getting permission and allotment of land for the planting of these trees. At the moment there is a compulsory requirement of afforestation for trees felled in the city, according to the Trees Protection Act 1994, but by the time permission is granted from the Conservator of Forests, the projects get unduly delayed.

To do away with this problem, the PWD has proposed a ‘PWD Forest’ spread over 100 hectares of land where a total of 1.1 lakh trees would be planted which was also the number of trees that they had permission to fell within the city without having to procure permission for each project.

The objective of all this is to make sure that there is a balance in the environment around us and we don’t end up living in a concrete jungle.