Felling of trees uproots benefits of plantation drives

The data was quoted in the ‘National State of the Forest’ report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI).

The reason,says the report,is while 0.39 km sq of forest cover was added in Northeast Delhi between 2004 and 2007,0.29 km sq was also felled in East Delhi.

The environmentalists say that axing of plantations is a cause for concern,as the bulk of Delhi’s green cover— 67 per cent — rests on anthropogenic plantations. The city only has 33 per cent natural forests,reports the analysis of the forest cover.

The tree cover (which is independent of forest cover) of in the city,however,still promises hope.

According to statistics,while the total forest cover till 2007 is 176 km sq,forest and tree cover combined is 299.5 km sq — covering a healthy 20 per cent of Delhi’s geographical area.

No definition for forest
The country,meanwhile,still suffers from the lack of concrete definition of what constitutes a ‘forest’. While the FSI counts any region covered by trees in over ten per cent of its area as ‘forest’,many agencies continue to exploit the lack of definition. In the Aravalli mining case and in the case of tree-felling for BSP statue complex in Noida Sector 15-A,both Haryana and UP defended their tree cutting claiming that the thick-tree cover was not actually a ‘forest’.

“We’ve counted any area with 10 per cent of tree cover as forest (in our survey),” says R D Jakati from FSI. He,however,admits the ‘forests’ surveyed may not be official. “State governments have different definitions of a forest,there is a need to create a single nation-wide classification and definition.”

The capitals’ lungs
* Trees by roadsides play a major role in keeping the city green
* Till 2007,123 km sq was under standalone trees in Delhi,covering 8 per cent of Delhi’s area
* In same period,forests and plantations cover 176 km sq,11 per cent of Delhi’s area