New Delhi: Delhi Government gave permission to axe nearly 50,000 trees to execute infrastructural projects in the last eight years but the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD 2021) has no location reserved for compensatory plantation.

Information received under RTI from the Forest Department of Delhi Government reveals that in West Division, officials gave permission to fell 26,000 trees, followed by 23,000 in South Division and 700 in North Division in the period between 2000-08.

But what has come as most surprising is that the MPD 2021 which has envisaged need for various developmental and housing projects to meet increasing population need is silent as far as compensatory plantation is concerned.

As per RTI, the State Deputy Conservator of Forest states, "there is no locations reserved for compensatory plantation in the MPD 2021."

Despite the mandatory requirement of planting 10 trees for every one that is fell within a year, the forest officials said they are not "aware of the area where compensatory plantation has been carried out in most of the cases in all these years stretching from 2000-08.

The agencies seem to have washed their hands off from planting trees by just depositing security amount.

For instance in South Division, the government collected Rs 34 lakhs as security in 2007-08,Rs 9,5000 in 2006-08 and Rs 28,73069 in 2005-06. Also, as no time frame has been set up by the government for planting the trees in place of felled one, the agencies seem to be least bothered to do the needful.

"No time frame has been prescribed but is ordinarily within one year from the date of the permission (felling of trees) that the compensatory plantation is done," the RTI reply says.

Source : PTI