A series of reports filed by senior advocate Kailash Vasdev highlights the ruthless felling of trees over the last few years. In his report to the Delhi High Court, he has said that an estimated 10,500 deaths which are directly related to bronchial and cardiovascular diseases, occur every year in Delhi.
He also states in his report that over one lakh trees were struck down for metro construction work between 2006 and 2014 and 864 hectares of ‘forest’ land allotted to various private developers. The Army has also demolished the Aravalli ridge hills and forests to develop a cantonment.
“There were 26 notified forests in the city, but very few are left now. The forest authorities gave permission to cut down trees around the ridge, due to which the aquifers and water bodies have gone dry,” Vasdev said.
Delhi High Court bench has ordered the Delhi government, Public Works Department (PWD) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to file its report on the number of trees cut and number of trees planted in various areas in the last 15 years.
However, the problem does not seem to be that simple. According to experts, Delhi’s unique problems include a lack of a coastline and no sea breeze to clear out pollutants.
Geographical location is a major threat with Delhi being a congested airshed. The industrial pollution from neighbouring towns of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad also settles in the national Capital, as extreme climatic conditions add to the increase in pollutants in the city.
“It’s a landlocked city. The pollution from the neighbouring states also accumulates here. Of course other cities like Mumbai and Chennai have the advantage of the green cover,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment.
Despite these geographical constraints, Delhi was once one of the cleanest cities. It is time for all stakeholders to give the city their undivided attention and bring it back to its past glory.