Delhi govt to plant 5.2 mn trees and shrubs in mega drive beginning Feb 26

The Delhi government will plant 52 lakh trees and shrubs in the city during its mega plantation drive beginning February 26.

The city government usually starts the drive in the monsoon, but the large number of trees demanded an early start, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said at a press conference here.

He also asked all agencies concerned to get a third-party audit of the tree plantation done in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The minister said the AAP government will also set up a panel to conduct site suitability analysis before taking up the plantation exercise to improve survival rate of the saplings.

Rai said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will launch the plantation drive from a location near Shastri Park.

"A total of 52 lakh trees, including 25 lakh shrubs, will be planted in Delhi this year. The Delhi forest department will plant 12 trees and 6 lakh shrubs this year," he said,

A total of 47 lakh trees and shrubs were planted last year as against the target of 42 lakh.