After years of deadlock,Rs 18 cr comes Delhi’s way for afforestation

The largest projects are those related to the Metro,for which the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has paid Rs 12 crore — lying idle till now. Around 5.5 hectares of forest land was diverted from the South Ridge for the Qutub Minar-Gurgaon line (March 2008),6.89 hectares near Dhaula Kuan for Airport link from the Ridge (June 2008),and 4 hectares for the Metro Depot at Ghitorni for the Qutub line (Jan 2009).

The CAMPA fund (the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) kicks in when forest land ownership is conceded for non-forest purposes. This requires permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. This is a different process from tree-felling for development projects,granted by the state government and may usually pertain to land which is not forest. Utilisation of CAMPA money was in a deadlock for eight years following a case in the Supreme Court. The dispute was whether it should be given to states or be utilised by the Centre. The Court recently gave the nod in aid of the states.

In the first installment,Delhi will receive 10 per cent of the amount,which is Rs 1.8 crore,for afforestation.

“We will use this money to plant trees in Aya Nagar. As more money comes in,more locations will be decided on,” said an official from the Forest department. The department has written to the ministry asking for the funds to be released.

Other projects where forest land has been given up include 2.84 hectares for SP Mukherjee swimming pool,3 hectares for Dr Karni Singh shooting range,2.2 hectares for Talkatora stadium,1 hectare for PWD’s Neela Hauz bridge in Vasant Kunj,and less than a hectare for a wall for a railway line in Northern Ridge. Plus 38,000 trees have been cut for Games related projects.