Delhi govt plans to conduct city’s first tree census to save green cover

The government has planned to conduct city’s first ever tree census with an aim to protect its green cover.

“Public Grievances Commission had recently recommended us to carry out tree census in the city... The plan is still on the anvil. We will announce shortly the outline of the census. However, such a massive census can not be done by the government alone and involvement of Residents’ Welfare Associations and civic agencies will be crucial in this endeavour,” a state Environment Department official said.

The government would like to play a supervisory role in the initiative, he added. Earlier, tree census in the national capital used to be carried out by green activists and civic agencies, on their own, who limited the exercise to only a few pockets in the city.

These activists and city residents feel that with the government chipping in, the initiative would now be undertaken at <g data-gr-id="26">broader-level</g> unlike in small areas earlier.

“We have been conducting census since 2012. But the exercise is often restricted to few areas, as being a voluntary organisation, we cannot bring vast resources into the exercise,” Suhas Borker, who had conducted the first private tree count in Delhi in <g data-gr-id="30">Sarvodya</g> Enclave, said Park and garden officer .

“Though NDMC staffers help in the census, the paraphernalia and the human resource is provided by our organization,” said <g data-gr-id="29">Borker</g>, who is the founder-member of ‘Green Circle of Delhi’.

The organisation had conducted a tree count in Samachar Apartments (Mayur Vihar), Jor Bagh and Lodhi Garden, earlier this year.

“We counted 7,055 trees and 189 species in Lodhi Garden.We found trees with a girth of 5.3m and a height exceeding 70 feet,” <g data-gr-id="27">Borker</g> said.