It will take four years to increase Delhi’s green cover to 33% of its total land area and to conduct the city’s first-ever tree census, according to a draft action plan submitted by the Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute (FRI) to the Supreme Court. The apex court has asked the expert body to reduce both the budget and the timeline for these projects.
The top court bench headed by justice Abhay S Oka directed FRI to submit a revised plan for the tree census within a month and another for the green cover enhancement by June.
The action plan, presented in two reports by FRI, proposed dividing the greening project into four phases, with the first phase focusing on a detailed roadmap, consultations, and collaboration with stakeholders. The report proposed a high-level steering committee (HLSC) headed by Delhi chief secretary comprising 19 departments of Centre and Delhi government, that will identify land for afforestation.
A separate high-level committee (HLC), also chaired by the chief secretary, with 23 members, will oversee the tree census.
The greening initiative is estimated to cost ₹3.69 crore, while the tree census, which will employ geospatial mapping and scientific expertise, is projected at ₹4.43 crore.
The bench, also comprising justice Ujjal Bhuyan, found some cost estimates excessive and directed FRI to revise them. Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Delhi, pointed out that the funds lying under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) will be utilised for this purpose.
FSI’s 2023 report records Delhi’s total forest and tree cover at 371.31 sq km — roughly 25% of its 1,483 sq km area. Of this, 195.28 sq km is under the forest department.
“After approval of the four-year Action Plan by the court, Delhi Forest Department (DFD) will ensure timely execution of the Action Plan including release of funds to FRI for implementation of activities pertaining to Phase 2 (pilot studies in collaboration with DFD), Phase 3 (capacity building, awareness programmes, etc) and Phase 4 (monitoring and evaluation),” the FRI report said.
The bench was told that Delhi government has been working with FRI since 2016 on a working plan for improving green cover. The court suggested incorporating relevant aspects of this plan into the new initiative and recommended reducing the size of the HLSC and HLC. It also instructed the Delhi government to release an initial portion of funds once the revised budget is submitted.
On the tree census, FRI felt that the definition of tree under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act (DPTA), 1994 was “ambiguous” as it included shrubs within the definition of trees. The FRI said it will go by definition of trees provided by FSI that excludes “non-perennial non-woody species like banana and tall shrubs or climbers”. It further stated that the census will exclude areas under reserved forests and protected forests.
The bench clarified that the greening project’s goal of 33% tree cover must consist of actual forest and tree canopy rather than just green spaces.
In the first phase of the tree census project, a “Tree Cell” will be established at FRI for preparation of action plan on tree census within 18 months and its future implementation. The HPC constituted for this purpose would ensure effective coordination among different land-owning agencies.
FRI proposed to design and develop a website for recording the census and a mobile app for use in field survey. “The web portal will ultimately help in building a centralised database of trees present within NCT of Delhi and facilitate an insight on tree species diversity, ownership, distribution,” the report said.
After 18 months, FRI will come out with its action plan and under the third phase, the same shall be implemented across next two years from the date of release of funds. As the census is to be executed by the Tree Authority and forest department, FRI will provide technical support and capacity building to the concerned officials, besides monitoring and evaluation.
The Supreme Court had tasked FRI with these projects on February 17 while hearing a petition by lawyer-activist MC Mehta. The direction was issued in response to rampant tree felling, including in the protected Ridge area, which the court deemed a significant environmental threat to Delhi’s air quality.
