NEW DELHI: Strange it may sound, but the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is struggling to find saplings of Mahua, a common Indian tropical tree found in central and north India.
The Council is trying to procure Mahua saplings for about two years but unable to manage seedlings for reasons best known to the horticulture department.
The scarcity emerged when the NDMC officials held a discussion on the varieties of plants to be used for ceremonial plantation by Delhi chief secretary Vijay Kumar Dev at Lodi Garden on Wednesday.
“We were very keen on growing a few more Mahua in New Delhi area. Therefore, we checked with several nurseries in the city, but couldn’t find even one sapling strangely. They could be brought from UP or other states but transport charges will make them costly. So, the idea is not feasible. Native seedlings are a priority as it is already acclimatized to local weather,” said a NDMC official.
Mahua is a fast-growing tree that can reach a height of up to 20 metres. Mahua trees are found in abundance in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat among others.
Incidentally, the NDMC officials had discussed among themselves about the option of planting a sapling of a rare species or a variety at Lodi Garden. But, the idea was dropped after it was learnt that maintenance of rare species of plants is difficult at times.
Later, the NDMC officials were given the option of arranging a small plant measuring 7-8 feet of Kalpavriksha (Baobab or Adansonia Digitata) or Rudraksha (Elaeocarpus ganitrus) to be used for Wednesday’s visit.
“Ideally, we avoid species which we already have at the site. The Lodi Garden doesn’t have a Mahua tree, which is linked with spirituality as well. The Rajesh Pilot Marg has around 50-60 Mahua trees, which were planted years ago.
We had to face similar difficulties when we proposed to set up Butterfly Park at Lodi Garden. About 51 nectar plants were sourced from Gujarat,” said a NDMC official.
Inaugurated in 2009 at Lodi Garden, the Butterfly Park — one of most frequented parks in Delhi — has about 7,000 trees of 205 varieties.