Delhi's Green Drive: Officers Now Accountable For Survival Of 1 Lakh Saplings

Officers will now be held accountable for the survival of more than one lakh saplings planted across 77 locations in Delhi, with Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu directing the Delhi Development Authority to appoint a nodal officer for every plantation site.

Each officer will be responsible for monitoring the plantations at the assigned location and ensuring that the saplings survive and grow into trees, the DDA said.

The direction was issued as the agency conducted a single-day plantation drive across the capital on Friday, planting more than one lakh trees and shrubs.

Officers Responsible For Sapling Survival

Mr Sandhu asked the DDA to go beyond one-day plantation exercises and establish a system for the regular maintenance and monitoring of newly planted saplings.

The nodal officers appointed at the individual locations will be held accountable for the survival of the plantations under their supervision, according to the agency.

The Lieutenant Governor also directed the DDA to conduct such drives regularly and replicate the initiative across other Ridge areas in Delhi.

He said young people should play a central role in the programmes so that future generations become stakeholders in protecting and restoring the Capital's ecology.

Plantation Drive Covers 77 Sites

Mr Sandhu led the plantation programme at Kamla Nehru Ridge, where around 200 people participated, including college and school students, morning walkers and members of resident welfare associations.

The DDA said indigenous species such as Dhok, Amaltas, Dhak and Gamhar were planted at the Ridge. The species were selected for their suitability to Delhi's ecology and their role in supporting biodiversity, it said.

Simultaneous plantation exercises were held at 76 other locations, including Sanjay Van, Aravalli Biodiversity Park, Aastha Kunj, Dilshad Garden Deer Park and district parks in Hauz Khas, Paschim Puri and Vasant Udyan.

Parks and green belts in Narela were also covered.

The agency said the trees and shrubs used at the different locations were selected according to site-specific plantation plans.

Mr Sandhu also visited the Serpentine Lake and Butterfly Conservatory at Kamla Nehru Ridge and reviewed hydrological restoration work being undertaken in the area.

Part Of Delhi's 70-Lakh Mission

Friday's exercise forms part of DDA's target to plant 23 lakh trees and shrubs under Delhi's Mission 70 Lakh Plantation.

The wider campaign was launched on July 7 under the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" initiative.

The DDA had said earlier in July that it had planted more than 6.62 lakh trees and shrubs across 675 parks, four Ridge zones, six biodiversity parks and several green corridors.

The plantation target for Delhi's Ridge areas during the current season is 1,81,700 trees and shrubs, according to the agency.