Public Lecture Report, “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” Page 1

Public Lecture

On “Delhi’s Dying Trees?”

Date: 15th May, 2013

Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm Organised by: Toxics Link

Venue: India International Centre, New Delhi

Delhi has transformed from being a green capital to being a concrete jungle in less than a decade. In a short time, tens of thousands of trees have been chopped down for roads, flyovers, the Metro, the Commonwealth Games, and new constructions. Those remaining have been imprisoned in concrete pavements, or their branches chopped off so brutally that they are now stark looking and stump like.

From the early days since nineties, when the Ridge Forest came to be legally protected and the unique Delhi Tree Act enacted, it has only been a steady decline. In fact even in many protected areas, the state of trees is dismal. Despite the existence of the Tree Authority, the various Annual Greening Plans and many nurseries and horticulture departments, it seems that Delhi will soon be a merely treeless landscape, a far cry from the shady city, replete with birds and their calls and the trees which gloriously bloomed at different times of the year.

India’s State of Forest Report 2011, brought out by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, claims that Delhi’s green cover (which includes shrubs and trees Outside forests) doubled in a decade—from 151 sq. km in 2001 to 296.2 sq. km in 2011. This has to be a myth. In fact Forest Department have conceded that they have allowed felling of thousands of trees for the third phase of Delhi Metro’s expansion with no place to carry out the 10:1 re-plantation as is legally required. The work for the third phase started in November 2011. Also, detailed field surveys show that most of the Delhi roads have limited surface soil for the trees to grow.

Is there any hope for Delhi’s trees? What needs to be done?

It is in this light that Toxics Link in collaboration with the India International Centre organized a Public Lecture on “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” at India International Centre on 15TH May 2013. The discussion was preceded by a short film titled “Last Words of a Dying Tree” by Avinash Kumar Singh & Geetha Singh.

Public Lecture Report, “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” Page 2

The panel included eminent speakers like Mr. A. K. Shukla (IFS, Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden, Forest Department); Pradip Krishen(Film Maker & Environmentalist); Padmavati Dwivedi (Founder, Compassionate Living) while the discussion was moderated by Mr. Ravi Agarwal (Director, Toxics Link).

Ravi Agarwal opened the discussion by expressing concern on how the development projects are axing huge number of trees and there is not enough space to replant them. As per the Delhi forest act, ten saplings needs to be replanted for every tree that is cut but evidently there is no space. There is rich forest but how well it is preserved is a big question. The city today stands a witness to a conflict between what once stood as a green city to what Delhi is becoming as a concrete city, he added. He further said that there is a need to contemplate on the role the institutions play in this.

Dr. A. K. Shukla presented on the “Dying Trees of Delhi” where he talked about plantation in Delhi and how it has evolved over the years. Briefing on some of the fundamentals of the city’s forest cover, he shared that the Recorded Forest Area is 85 Sq Km i.e, 5.73 % of Geographical Area; forest cover is 176.20 Sq. Km and the forest & tree cover: 19.97% of Geographical Area. He further noted that Delhi was one of the Greenest Capital Cities in the World and the Green cover of Delhi increased from 22 sq.km in 1993 to 296.20 sq. km in 2011.The city has 1 Wildlife Sanctuary (4845.58 acres), 5 Proposed Reserved Forests and 25 Protected Forests and a total of 42 city forests.

However, things are changing. Discussing the changing scenario of Delhi the city is taking leaping strides as far as development is concerned with monumental increase in metros, fly-overs and multi-storied buildings he said that this requires a plan which integrates both greenery and development. The increasing population demands development & urbanization posing pressure on the green cover. Although the department is doing the required plantation it cannot ensure that they are provided with land, he added.

Public Lecture Report, “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” Page 3

He further briefed on how the trees are being misused and the reasons behind the dying trees, which includes Concretization and tiling around trees to make pavements thus limiting surface soil for trees to grow & weakening root system.

Also, trees are strangulated by Metal tree guards which in turn limits the growth of the trees after a certain point, at times choking it.

Nailing on trees for advertisements damages the trees by aggravating their disease susceptibility.

Public Lecture Report, “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” Page 4

Elaborating on the Ridge Mr. Shukla said that the Delhi Ridge land which is an extension of the Aravalli is represented by an area of 7784 hectare and the Ridge forests is an important catchment area from where Delhi’s ground water gets recharged with good quality water. Also, with the highest density of vehicles in Delhi, the ridge forests act as a sink for the carbon released into the atmosphere.

However, it is uncultivable and consists of open canopied thorny scrub forest. The soil quality needs to be improved as the area is quiet rocky and there the growth of the trees is very poor. He further suggested Bamboo plantation is suitable for these kinds of land, so that they take minimum from the soil and gives maximum humus to the soil thus making the soil appropriate for planting other trees.

He then shared some of the recommendations made by the Planning Commission and pointed that it suggests that Land up to the depth of one peripheral revenue village boundary along the border of NCTD, wherever available, would be maintained as green belt; New farmhouses & motels not to be permitted; 15 – 20% land in urban extension to be distributed for green/recreational purposes.

Touching on the actions taken by the government he said that guidelines have been laid and implemented by the Tree Authority (chaired by the Secretary, Environment & Forests, GNCTD) regarding de-concretization, removal of tree guards and nailed advertisements. Also a pilot tree census has been initiated involving NGOs, RWAs and school students which are also aimed at recording health status of the trees surveyed.

Further Under Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, for every tree felled for a developmental project, the Forest Department ensures planting and maintenance of 10 saplings. Also, under ‘Greening Delhi Action Plan’ every year lakhs of saplings are planted and distributed by the Forest Department and other Greening agencies. For the year 2012-13 a total of 17.17 lakh saplings have been planted and distributed. Briefing on the open and dense forest cover, Mr. Shukla noted that ultimately it was stabilizing. However there is a need to identify the bottlenecks and seek ways to rectify them as well as replicate in other societies.

Public Lecture Report, “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” Page 5

Pradip Krishen on an apprehensive note mentioned that how the forest department envisages its role in different states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan and how it conceptualizes itself in Delhi needs to be looked at. There are areas in the city where much plantation cannot be done, while there are areas where a lot can be done for instance the ridge. Yet the forest department is not taking any initiative to improve the habitat in a place like Ridge forest.

Briefing on the kinds of trees appropriate for the city, he emphasized that native trees and native flora need to be planted. If a plant or tree is truly native to a city, it means that it has evolved over a million of years to be perfectly adapted to a particular environment, soil, rainforest regime and a particular ecology. And once the plant has established itself, it can take care of itself and thus need not be provided with extra nutrients or extra water.

There is a need to understand what is native and to look for seeds of those plants, grow and then nurture them.

Citing an example of the imperial plantation in 1911 he threw light on the trees that were chosen for plantation in the new imperial capital. The imperial capital committee came up with a series

of guidelines which essentially said that New Delhi should be planted like a garden city, with huge avenues and lines of trees appropriate to the avenues that they line. At the end of the each major avenue they wanted architectural effects, so the height of the tree and the size of the canopy were very crucial.

They could have planted 60 - 80 species of trees however, the British actually chose to line the avenues with only 13 species of trees, and interestingly they did not chose to plant any of the trees which were know to be Mughal favorite. He said that looking at the list of the trees to be planted one can sense that they did not want any deciduous tree (which shed their leaves as a response to the long drought as a way to conserve moisture to survive that period of prolonged drought).

Briefing on the nature of various native trees he said that there are trees which grow in a very dry deciduous ecology, in moist deciduous ecology and in moist evergreen ecology and behave differently in the moist area and differently in the deciduous area. For example a tree like Albizia procera (Safed Syrus) which grows on the foothills of Himalayas, where rivers tend to come

Public Lecture Report, “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” Page 6

down with great force and then as the land flattens out it becomes marshy will not survive in Delhi. In the same way if Riparian trees (i.e the river side trees) is planted in Delhi they will die. And the British actually made this mistake, a mistake we are condemned to make again and again unless we start to think ecologically, he added.

He further noted that ‘plantation cannot be done on the dry rocky land’, is a mistaken perception. Mangar Bani, for instance, is one of the most beautiful forests which are actually thriving on a Gair Mumkin land. And this is a forest which is not only growing in an extremely dry rocky country side but also is very steep sided and even if it rains there the water does not stay there at all. Gair Mumkin land means that it’s not good for agriculture and is not cultivable. However it’s excellent for forest, he noted. Thus it is not true that forest cannot be created in dry rocky areas provided that the right things are grown on these kinds of land.

Expressing her concern on the fact that the city does not have any green plan for the next fifty years, Ms. Padmavati said that despite huge number of trees being axed there are no efforts to reforest the area. Once a tree is gone nobody plans to plant it anymore, she added.

She attributed the dwindling green cover of the city to unplanned development and urbanization. Despite the cars spilling into the city at the rate of 1400 day, huge developmental projects, massive concretization in front of every house, with pavements being made and remade, lack of space, the city does not have a green plan or a vision to manage the menace in the coming years.

Further, she pointed the need for the government to come up with a green vision. There is a need to connect the parking rules, policies of the national commission for water, the tree plantation, the traffic, the developmental projects, all these have to be planned at a level so that in a few years urban trees do not become extinct. Also, the role and active involvement of the citizens needs to be considered. Finally, it is the people who have to decide what’s going to drive the policies of the government.

Briefing on the census initiated by her, she said that a census on trees was done involving the people across Delhi and it was a citizen’s initiative. Citizens from all across Delhi recorded some basic information on the trees like their height, the soil, and the health of the tree. The census proved essential to identify how many trees are there; how many are needed; what kinds of trees

Public Lecture Report, “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” Page 7

needs to be planted. They also went around and pulled out the nails from the trees. Presently, she said, they are in the process of getting the trees de-choked in Sarvodaya Enclave and also making efforts to prevent cementing outside the houses unless they use the

porous tiles.

Ravi Agarwal, in his closing remarks, shared his experience while working on the ridge forest in the 90s. He said that he strived hard to make the institutions function but they did not function. He further noted that the problem lies in the fact that the horticulture manages many forest areas in Delhi but does not know forestry. The problem lies in the way they manage it and there is a need to find a solution.

The lecture was followed by an interactive question answers session where the participants raised some pertinent questions on the flaws within the system and the kind of corrective measures required; safeguards the forest department is taking to stop trees being axed down. There were questions on the lack of space in the city to plant trees.

Residents from Vasant Kunj raised concerns on the developments in their area where huge number of trees were cut down because of some local politicians and the logs were auctioned.

Concerns were also raised on the Rajokari forest area which again is witnessing huge deterioration because of the political forces, mining and construction of huge abysses with no efforts to reforest the area. The participants recommended the need to reforest areas like Rajokari and stressed on the need to grow native trees and oriental trees.

Despite the rules in place the MCD, the horticulture department does not take any action. The trees are cut ruthlessly, and the pruning is not done in a systematic manner.

Pradip Khrishen added that the various civic bodies and the horticulture departments are shockingly ignorant. The level of knowledge in the CPWD, PWS is absolutely appalling. He suggested that these people need to be educated.

The lecture saw an overwhelming response with more than 75 participants attending the

Public Lecture Report, “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” Page 8

discussion which included representatives from BNHS, film makers, Universities, educational and research institutes, media houses, civil societies and school teachers.

----------------------------------------------

Media Coverage

Green loss lens on forest department

Source: The Hindustan Times, http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Green-loss-lens-on-forest-department/Article1-1060665.aspx

Date: 15/05/2013

Delhi’s forest department came under the scanner of experts and residents on Wednesday during a daylong discussion session titled ‘Delhi’s dying trees.’ Noted filmmaker and environmentalist Pradip Krishen, who took part in the discussion, said: “I often wonder how Delhi’s forest department envisions its role. There’s a lot they can do. They can save the ridge forest. In the last several years that I have been working in the ridge area, I have not come across a single forest department staff there”.

Krishen whose book ‘Trees of Delhi’ is considered a Bible for environmentalists said it was bad for the forest department to have said that trees and greenery could not come up in a dry, rocky terrain. “The area may not be good for agriculture but it is an excellent for forestry. In a similar but steep countryside near Faridabad, this has been happening,” he said.

Ravi Agarwal of NGO Toxics Link, who moderated the session held at India International Centre, said, “Delhi has transformed from a green capital to a concrete jungle in less than a decade”. “Tens of thousands of trees have been felled for roads, flyovers, Metro, Commonwealth Games, and new constructions. Those remaining have been imprisoned in concrete pavements, or their branches chopped off brutally. Despite the government’s claim of increase green cover, it is clear that there are fewer trees around,” he said.

Responding to some tough questions ranging from ruthless pruning to shortage of staff posed by residents, Delhi’s chief conservator of forests AK Shukla said, “We’re doing what we can. Civic agencies should also shoulder some responsibility. Delhi has a feudal mindset. People use their green areas for dumping garbage.”

Public Lecture Report, “Delhi’s Dying Trees?” Page 9

Shukla, however, admitted that concrete tiling and metal guards were killing trees and that a large number of saplings were being planted every year but their survival rate was a concern.

-------------------------------------------