Rai urges Delhiites to plant trees on rooftops

New Delhi: In a significant move to combat the severe heatwave affecting Delhi and the rest of the country, Environment minister Gopal Rai has urged residents to plant trees on their rooftops.

On World Environment Day, Rai highlighted the importance of increasing green cover to reduce pollution and mitigate the effects of extreme heat.

Rai emphasised the urgent need for public participation in this initiative, stating, “This time the whole country, including Delhi, is facing a severe heatwave. People of Delhi should plant as many trees as possible on the rooftops of their houses. This will help in reducing pollution as well as heat wave.”

The minister also noted the progress made by the Delhi government’s tree plantation campaign. “Due to ongoing tree plantation campaign, Delhi’s green cover has increased to 23.06 per cent, in 2013 it was 20 per cent,” he said.

Rai announced that the Delhi government had set a target of planting 2 crore trees in five years, a goal achieved in just four years.

In his address, Rai reiterated the crucial role of public involvement in environmental initiatives. “Public participation is necessary to keep the environment better and pollution free. An appeal to all Delhiites is that neither you pollute nor let anyone do it,” he said.

Acknowledging the challenges posed by both winter and summer seasons, Rai outlined the government’s efforts to create action plans for pollution control. “Our government makes winter and summer action plans to reduce pollution and heat wave in Delhi. On this basis, work is done in collaboration with all the departments concerned,” he explained.

Rai highlighted that Delhi leads the country in terms of per capita forest cover among cities and mentioned the government’s commitment to monitoring the survival rate of planted trees. Under the Green Action Plan 2023-24, the target of planting and distributing 52 lakh saplings has nearly been met. Despite the current enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, Rai assured that efforts to intensify the tree plantation campaign would continue. “This campaign will be further intensified by holding a meeting with all the greening agencies next week,” he said.