Of 35L saplings, 33.79L already planted by Delhi govt, says Rai
New Delhi: In a historic first, the Delhi government has achieved 96% of its annual tree plantation target way ahead of the schedule. Riding on the success of the plantation drive, Environment Minister Gopal Rai has revised this year's target from 35 lakh to 42.81 lakh.
He also announced that from October 15 the government will conduct a second plantation drive to further increase the Capital's green cover. In this context Rai chaired a high-level meeting to further expand the reach of the Delhi government's plantation drive.
As per Rai, the government set a target of planting 35 lakh saplings by March next year. Out of this, 33.79 lakh saplings have already been planted. Rai further said that the forest department has been instructed to conduct random checks of the saplings planted by the green agencies. All the departments will conduct third party audits of the plantation.
Rai said, "The Delhi government has prepared the 'Winter Action Plan' to deal with rising pollution in Delhi. Various departments were ordered to submit a report on a 15-point program. Departments are gearing up for the plan and several departments have submitted their reports. We will conduct a joint meeting of all the departments to compile the Winter Action Plan on September 16. One important point out of these 15 points is tree plantation. During his election campaign, Arvind Kejriwal guaranteed that our government will plant 2 crore plants in the next five years to increase the coverage of green belt in Delhi. We are continuously running the plantation drive in collaboration with various agencies in all the areas of Delhi."
Rai also mentioned that various government departments have contributed to the success of the drives by planting saplings and said, "This year, we kept a target of planting and distributing 35 lakh saplings. We are proud of the fact that we were supposed to achieve this target in March but we have already planted 33 lakh saplings with the cooperation of all the agencies in Delhi. We ran various mega plantation drives. It is a big achievement that we have already achieved 96% of our target."
Rai concluded, "The second phase of tree plantation drive will begin from October 15. Under this, a special campaign for tree plantation will be carried out on the banks of river Yamuna. Plants which are suitable to the soil and environment will be planted. I request the people of Delhi to participate in this noble cause to improve the environment of Delhi. This campaign will not only increase the green cover of Delhi but will also prove to be the foundation for curbing the problem of pollution in future."
