Over 80 percent of the saplings planted in Delhi between 2016 and 2019 have survived, officials have said citing a revised report from the Forest Research Institute (FRI). The city government is also seeking to conduct an audit of tree transplantation exercises undertaken in the capital so far, they said.
Based on a third-party audit conducted by FRI, Dehradun, it was earlier reported that the survival rate of saplings planted in Delhi between 2016 and 2019 was between 50 percent and 75 percent, which is considered good.
A source said the forest department was “unhappy” with the findings and the FRI was asked to look into it again. “We have received a revised report which says that the survival rate is more than 80 percent in all the divisions, which is considered excellent,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Around 67 lakh saplings were planted in Delhi during the plantation drives undertaken between 2016 and 2019. According to officials, 40-50 percent survival rate is considered average, 50-70 percent is good, 70-80 percent is very good, and 80-90 percent is considered excellent. Of the 18 greening agencies involved in yearly plantation drives, the forest department and the Delhi Development Authority plant the maximum number of saplings and shrubs.
The plantation audit aims to ascertain which species of plants, trees and shrubs have the best survival rate in Delhi and which regions in the city are best suited for their growth. The Delhi forest department had earlier got an audit conducted by the Agricultural Finance Corporation for the plantation drive carried out during 2013 to 2015.
Various government agencies planted 32 lakh saplings in the financial year 2020-21. Of this, the forest department planted around 5.5 lakh saplings.
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