Delhi forest deptt has no information on compensatory afforestation
14 Mar, 2013The reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that the Delhi forest department doesn’t have a clue about how much of non-forest land is required to compensate the tree loss caused by the third phase of Delhi Metro Rail project.
In the reply to the application, the forest department has stated that it doesn’t have information about the compensatory afforestation needed for metro’s third phase. It also said that the department has no information on the quantity of land already made available to it. The department also could not give any answer about the reasons for delay in transfer of land. It also does not have information on the number of trees cut so far for the project.
According to the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, the Centre is duty bound to provide non-forest land to the Delhi forest department for compensatory plantation for the metro expansion. To compensate for the loss of green cover, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has to fund the plantation and maintenance of trees. Only 17 hectares of land out of the seventy hectares of land provided by the Delhi Development Authority has been found suitable for plantation.