2,143 trees to be chopped off for AIIMS Delhi redevelopment project

Trees will be felled for hospital’s redevelopment project; 1,512 will be transplanted
Representational image (Express Illustrations)
Representational image (Express Illustrations)

NEW DELHI: A total of 2,143 trees will be chopped off for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) redevelopment project. Of these, 1,512 will be transplanted, while 631 are set to be felled.
The permission for axing of trees for the project has been granted by the Delhiforest department, said officials.

According to Delhi government officials, the approval for tree felling and transplantation has been given by the department while the final nod by Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai is awaited.

“A total of 2,143 trees will be impacted for the project, of which 1,512, which are indigenous species will be transplanted while 631, which are exotic species, have been permitted to be felled. The file was sent for seeking approval from the minister, which is yet to come,” said a senior official, who didn’t wish to be named.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences redevelopment project involves the redevelopment of the existing East Ansari Nagar and Masjid Moth campus spread over 107 and 30acres, respectively, as well as the development of the 14.95-acre Trauma Centre Extension campus. Environment clearance for Masjid Moth campus was granted earlier itself.

The trees proposed to be transplanted for the project will be carried out in an area spread across 6hectares in northwest Delhi‘s Sultanpur Dabas village, said officials. The compensatory plantation for the project, however, will be carried out by the forest department at a reserve forest land in south Delhi’s Aya Nagar. “We plan to plant 21,430 saplings for compensatory plantation for the project in an area of around 26
hectares in aya Nagar,” the official said.

The initial proposal by AIIMS to cut or transplant 4,125 trees was flagged by the Delhi State Expert AppraisalCommittee (SEAC). In a meeting held on June 3, the SEAC noting that the site has around 5,995 trees, of which 4,125 being cut or transplanted is a very high number had asked the institute to review its project master plan and retain at least 50 per cent of trees on the site.

Under the Delhi Tree Transplantation policy, 2020, at least 80 per cent of all trees identified to be felled, be transplanted, and at least 80 per cent of these must survive the process. However, as per data submitted by the forest department in May 2022 in an affidavit in the Delhi High Court, only 33 per cent of trees transplanted in Delhi for all projects over the last three years, have survived. The low survival rate of trees transplanted raises concern over the policy and if it can applied to every project.

Expert panel intervention saves the day

  • The initial proposal by AIIMS to cut or transplant 4,125 trees was flagged by the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC)
  • The initial proposal by AIIMS to cut or transplant 4,125 trees was flagged by the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC)
  • Tree Transplantation policy says at least 80% of trees to be transplanted must survive the process
  • The trees to be transplanted for the project will be carried out in 6 hectares in northwest Delhi’s Sultanpur Dabas

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com