South Delhi residents can soon plant trees as gifts for loved ones in 20 SDMC parks

New Delhi: Residents of South Delhi will soon be able to gift trees to their loved ones with the SDMC all set to launch its new online initiative 'Gift a Tree' which will allow residents to plant a sapling as a gift. Any resident of the area will have the option to book a space for their sapling in 20 select SDMC parks by paying Rs 2,000.

SDMC commissioner Gyanesh Bharti said that the initiative will make an excellent gift for residents, especially environment lovers who can enjoy the tree anytime. "Recipients of the tree will be surprised by the gesture, they will feel special and deeply honoured."

The initiative is set to launch by the end of this month. The IT team of the SDMC is currently working on making the online portal for the same fully functional and fixing last-minute bugs, according to senior officials at the SDMC.

Officials also added that there will be an option to select the location as well as timing for the plantation so that they can be present for it if wanted.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation plans to set up a tree guard with the details of the person in whose name the tree was planted along with a certificate to commemorate the gift. The civic body will be taking care of the tree for life from then onwards without any added cost and the person adopting it can visit the said tree any time they would like.

Dr Alok Singh, SDMC's horticulture director, said, "The initiative will provide residents a valuable gift that will stay within the community for generations and make a good impact on the environment too."

Only 20 civic parks have been confirmed for the initiative so far, officials explaining this said, adding that it will be easier to take regular care of the plants this way.

Five parks each have been selected in the 4 zones as of now and once the initiative grows, they will consider other parks too. Around 498 spaces have been confirmed for saplings so far at these parks.

Some of the selected parks include Harsukh Park (28 saplings), W-Block Park GK-II (12 saplings), Defence Colony Club Park (25 saplings), Kamal School Vikaspuri Park (50 saplings).