As Delhi citizens protest the plans to cut almost 17,000 trees to redevelop seven south Delhi colonies, developer NBCC on Monday said it will plant two lakh saplings in compensation.
However, it also admits that it is not taking responsibility for the actual implementation of compensatory afforestation, and could not confirm whether sapling planting had taken place before trees were cut as mandated by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in its order last year.
NGT order
“We have deposited the ₹8 crore [for compensatory afforestation in the case of Nauroji Nagar] to the Delhi Forest Department before cutting a single tree. What more can we do? We do not plant the trees. That is the job of the Forest Department,” NBCC chairman and managing director Anoop Kumar Mittal told The Hindu on the sidelines of a press briefing.
In its order on the issue last November, the NGT had said, “The plants shall be planted as a condition precedent to the cutting of the trees”, which implies that the compensatory tree planting must take place before the cutting of trees.
According to the Delhi government’s November 2017 approval order to the NBCC to remove 1,454 trees at Nauroji Nagar, 14,650 saplings would be planted by the Delhi Forest Department on 14.65 hectares of land on the Yamuna floodplains, near Garhi Mandu village, at a cost of ₹8.35 crore.
NBCC duly paid that amount as an advance security deposit on November 16, 2017. Mr. Mittal confirmed that about 1,100 trees have already been felled.
Similarly, the NBCC was required to deposit ₹14.19 crore with the Forest Department to plant 24,900 trees as compensation for the 2,315 trees approved for removal in Netaji Nagar.
While most of these would also be planted on the Yamuna floodplains, 3,450 trees would be planted in and around the project site itself.
“The Delhi government approval came after the NGT order and takes it into account,” said Mr. Mittal.
Underground parking
Dr. Mittal estimated that another 13,000 trees would also need to be felled in the five remaining colonies, which are being developed by the NBCC and the Central Public Works Department.
However, the Delhi government has not given permission for these trees to be cut.
When asked why construction could not be planned around the existing trees, Mr. Mittal said the plans to build underground parking for 70,000 cars meant that this was often not possible. He also clarified that green cover would be tripled in the colonies which included playgrounds and lawns, not just space for trees.
While he appreciated the concerns of Delhi’s tree lovers, Dr. Mittal urged them to focus on the long-term perspective.
“We have to develop Delhi not for one or two years but for 100 to 200 years,” he said, claiming that previous redevelopment projects in New Moti Bagh and East Kidwai Nagar showed NBCC’s track record in environmentally friendly building with extensive green cover, sewage treatment plants and energy efficient construction.