Central Delhi Ridge facelift with flowering trees

The plantation drive will focus on the side facing Sardar Patel Marg as it will be the main road used by G20 visitors and dignitaries to commute between central Delhi and the IGI airport

Ahead of the G20 summit to be hosted in the city in September, the forest around Malcha Mahal, a 14th-century monument at the central ridge, will soon get a facelift with a five-layered plantation of flowering trees like jacaranda, gulmohar, bougainvillea, amaltas, and chinar.

The forest around Malcha Mahal, a 14th-century monument at the central ridge, will have a five-layered plantation of trees like jacaranda, gulmohar, bougainvillea, amaltas, and chinar. (HT ARCHIVE)

Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on Saturday planted the trees near the gate leading to the monument built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq and directed that the plantation be completed by August 15. The plantation drive will focus on the side facing Sardar Patel Marg as it will be the main road used by visitors and dignitaries to commute between central Delhi and the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, officials said. In a move to further strengthen the ecological balance of the ridge, existing natural depressions in the ridge forest will also be developed into artificial water bodies.

Earlier in May, the LG carried out the plantation of cherry blossoms and chinar trees across three islands in Yamuna, located between Qudsia Ghat and the ITO barrage to deck up Delhi’s landscape. While this is the first time that these two tree species have been introduced in the national capital, experts have been wary of their survival in Delhi’s climate.

“While developing green areas, authorities often fall for the trap of using exotic species of plants like palm and trees from other regions with different climatic conditions for beautification. The greening of areas should be integrated with the local environment and native trees or flowers should be used to ensure that they survive and last longer. Exotic species require more effort and use up more water,” said Victor Shinde, team lead for water management, National Institute of Urban Affairs.