No. of seedlings planted in Delhi in 2016-18 more than double the target: Env Min

More than 24 lakh seedlings were planted in Delhi in three years till 2018, more than the target of 10.14 lakh set by the Centre under its Twenty Point Programme (TPP), the Environment Ministry informed the Lok Sabha Friday.

Responding to a question in the Lower House, Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo said tree plantation targets in the country under the TPP are fixed by the ministry annually in consultation with states and Union Territories.

"As informed by the government of NCT of Delhi, against the target of plantation of 10.14 lakh seedlings, the Forest Department and other greening agencies have planted 24.59 lakh seedlings," he said.

The plantation targets are allotted to different departments and greening agencies by the states, the progress of which is collectively reported to the Environment Ministry and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), which compiles achievements collectively under the TPP.

"As reported by the MoSPI, the total achievements for number of seedlings planted are more than the targets fixed by the ministry under the TPP," Supriyo said.

According to the data provided by the minister, the number of seedlings planted in the country in 2017-18 was 10,731 lakhs against the target of 9,460 lakhs.

Citing MoSPI data, Supriyo said Delhi planted 8.45 lakh seedlings against the target of 5.51 lakh in 2016-17.

Highlighting the findings of the India State of Forest Report, 2017, he said the total forest and tree cover of Delhi is 20.59 per cent of its geographical area, which has shown a net increase of about 3.64 sq km as compared to the previous assessment in ISFR, 2015.

Responding to another question about whether the government monitors the health of the seedlings till they mature into a tree, Supriyo said, it is primarily the responsibility of respective state or UT governments.

"After plantation of seedlings, maintenance work, including watering, weeding and casualty replacement, is done to ensure good health and survival of plants," he said.

"The Government of India supports the maintenance in respect of protection against fire etc. and monitoring of the health of the seedlings planted through Centrally Sponsored Schemes as per the guidelines of the particular scheme," he said.