Punjab farmers’ rally in Delhi blocked
Police personnel man the barricades put up at Doomwali on the Punjab-Haryana border on Wednesday to block the 'Chalo Delhi' rally by farmers' unions protesting against the recent farm bills. While Haryana has sealed its borders with Punjab, the Delhi Police have refused permission for the protest in the national capital.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has approved the transplantation of 400 trees for building the new Parliament. The process has begun and uprooting of trees has started, officials of the Delhi environment and forest department said.
Environment minister Gopal Rai’s office on Tuesday confirmed that permission has been granted. “The permission has been given after due inspection of the area and in line with the state government’s transplantation policy. We understand that development work is important while ensuring the survival of maximum number of trees,” said the minister’s office.
According to the Delhi government’s transplantation policy, 80% transplanted trees must survive after a year. Compensatory plantation has also to be carried out by the agency undertaking the work.
A senior official in the department said permission has been given to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to transplant 400 trees for the new Parliament project. “The trees are already being transplanted. Some trees are around 40 to 50 years old. CPWD will have to carry out compensatory plantation for the same. Around 4,000 saplings will have to be planted to compensate for the uprooted trees,” the official said.
An inspection will be carried out after the transplantation work is over, the official added.
Meanwhile, officials of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which administers the area, said some of the trees to be uprooted, such as the ones on Raisina Road and Red Cross Road, are around 100 years old.
“There are around 20 jamun trees (a native species) on Raisina Road and 20-25 neem trees on Red Cross Road that are very old. It is difficult for old trees to survive, as they mostly have dead cells and are not able to regenerate on being translocated,” said a second official.
The union ministry of environment, forests and climate change had in June this year while approving the project said that only 233 trees would be transplanted.
The environment clearance report of the project had stated: “The Expert Appraisal Committee has been informed that there are 333 trees at plot no.118. Out of these, 100 trees are to be retained whole 233 trees are to be transplanted while no trees will be cut.”
Experts say while transplantation could be a good solution for younger trees, it may not work for older trees and native species CR Babu, professor emeritus at the Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystem, Delhi University, said only young and shallow-rooted species survive transplantation. However, with older trees and those with a deep-tap root systems, transplantation would be a failure.