The Delhi Government has set a target to plant 14 lakh saplings across the national capital during the year 2015-16. This move has come in the wake of rising pollution levels in the city and is part of the Aam Aadmi Party's action plan to make New Delhi 'green and clean'.
According to reports, a meeting chaired by Environment Minister Asim Ahmed Khan took the decision, with various departments and corporations of the Delhi government, officials of the three Municipal Corporations, DJB, NDMC, CPWD and Delhi Parks and Garden Society also in attendance. The Forest Department will be the nodal agency for communicating key facts to greening agencies like recommending appropriate species for different types of soil, topography and the techniques of tall plantation.
The ministry has also decided to convene a meeting of concerned officers from the Delhi Cantonment Board, Indian Railways, and Delhi Development Authority to assess the availability of land and open areas to increase the green in the national capital and proposes to take stock of plantations in existing areas with a view to increase them to ensure densification of green cover in the city.