Under Delhi government's new policy, 80 per cent transplanted trees must survive
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government notified the Tree Transplantation Policy on Wednesday. Under the policy, a minimum of 80 per cent of trees affected by a development or construction project will be transplanted and as much as 80 per cent of the transplanted trees must survive after transplantation.
The policy also requires planting 10 saplings as a compensatory norm if one tree is cut for development projects.
No tree shall be unnecessarily removed in the area identified for development projects and trees should be properly preserved, it states.
A tree survey shall be carried out at the time of project feasibility assessment and site identification to obtain the required information for developing site planning and tree preservation proposals.
The applicant shall select one of the technical agencies among the empanelled ones for carrying out tree transplantation work.
When on-site preservation is not possible, scientific transplantation shall be the new norm instead of felling of trees.
“To ensure maximum chances of survival of saplings/trees planted through the compensatory plantation, it shall be mandatory for all saplings planted to be a minimum of 6 feet in height and area as well as individual seedlings/trees to be geo-tagged,” said an official statement.