Green Delhi Action Plan not prepared in last 8 yrs: CAG report

NEW DELHI: While blame game over the planned felling of 17,000 trees sees no end, a recent CAG report has noted that in the Capital there is not any action plan on tree plantation as in the last eight years the government never prepared the Green Delhi Action Plan (GDAP).

“First Green Delhi Action Plan (GDAP) came into effect in the year 1997-98 to bring different agencies together for a coordinated approach to augment the pace of greening activities in Delhi,” noted the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

According to the report, while confirming the absence of GDAP since 2008-09, the Forest Department replied (November 2017) that the preparation of GDAP shall be resumed.

The annual targets were allotted each year to the Greening Agencies. The report further noted that the government has failed to match its own tree plantation targets.

“According to the report, between 2014 and 2017, the government planted 28.12 lakh trees against the target of 36.57 lakh, leaving a shortfall of 8.45 lakh trees,” observed the report.

The report noted that the forest department failed to achieve targets despite lowering them.

It reduced the target from 5.75 lakh trees in 2014-15 to 4.33 lakh in 2015-16.

The department was able to plant only 3.54 lakh trees. It then further lowered the targets to 3.75 lakh in 201617 and failed to achieve them again and planted 3.68 lakh trees only.

The CAG report also pointed to the ‘inadequacy’ in the functioning of the Tree Authority under the forest department of the government.

The report noted that Delhi’s Tree Authority, responsible for preservation and census of trees, met just once during 2014-17, while it is supposed to meet at least once in three months.

Noting that Delhi’s tree cover has only reduced from 123 square km in 2009 to 113 square km in 2017, tree plantation carried out by the government during 2014-17 “could not lead to commensurate increase in area under tree and forest cover putting a question mark on the efficacy and performance of Delhi government’s tree plantation programme”.

The report added that between 2015 and 2017, 750 permissions were given for felling of 13,018 trees.

The Centre’s decision to cut nearly 16,000 trees in the heart of south Delhi for a housing project for government employees has triggered citizen protests and a political blame game between the Aap-led Delhi government and the Union government over who gave the permission to do so.

The report also showed that the department has not collected the compensations properly and not maintained any proper record on tree cutting.

“The three DCF Offices collectively realized Rs 81.78 crores as a security deposit against 750 permissions granted during the period 2014-17 but there was no refund of security deposit during this period,” noted the report.

The report found massive disparities in the afforestation data provided by the Delhi Forest Department and other greening agencies, and inefficiency on the part of the government in undertaking afforestation activities.

“Against mandated 12 meetings, only one meeting was held during 2014-17, the period covered in the audit. The absence of regular meetings indicates lack of seriousness in its approach towards the preservation of trees and afforestation,” the CAG report says.

According to the CAG report, between 2014 and 2017, the Delhi government planted 28.12 lakh trees against the target of 36.57 lakh, leaving a shortfall of 8.45 lakh trees