Delhi PWD brings SOP for biannual pruning, upkeep for roadside greenery

The SOP seeks to prevent monsoon tree-fall tragedies like the Kalkaji incident, stressing visibility for signage, traffic lights, U-turns and roundabouts.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the upkeep of greenery along Delhi’s 1,400km arterial road network, mandating pruning of trees every six months and ensuring vertical clearance of 5.5 metres above carriageways and 3 metres above footpaths. The move follows complaints of poor maintenance and incidents of trees toppling during monsoons, including one in August in Kalkaji where a 50-year-old man was killed and his daughter injured after a massive neem tree fell on vehicles on a waterlogged road. The PWD was the road-owning agency in that case.

Maintenance cycle set at 15–30 days for verges, shrubs capped at 1.2m, with regular cleaning, watering, soil loosening, and fertilisation twice a year. (HT Archive)

According to the order, dated September 4 and issued by the department’s horticulture director, officials must survey and remove dead, disease-prone and obstructing branches, particularly those interfering with electric lines or streetlights. Similar regulations have been specified for the maintenance of central and side verges. “The aim of SOP is to ensure plant health, public safety, aesthetic enhancement, and environmental sustainability through regular maintenance and timely plantation. Trees, hedges and shrubs on central verges of roads are to maintain a uniform height,” the PWD order mentioned.

For central verges, the SOP mandates maintenance every 15–30 days, with hedges and shrubs kept at 1–1.2 metres to ensure they do not obstruct signals, signage, roundabouts and U-turns. Trees on central verges must be maintained at a height of five metres. The instructions also require regular cleaning, watering, fortnightly soil loosening, and use of chemical and farmyard fertilisers at least twice a year.

Officials acknowledged manpower shortage in the horticulture wing as a key hurdle. “Due to the acute shortage of manpower in the Horticulture Wing and for better supervision and improved efficiency in executing horticulture works, the approval of the competent authority is hereby conveyed for the engagement of assistant engineers (civil) under the road maintenance division in the hierarchy for horticulture works,” the order states.

To plug the gap, private agencies will be hired at the zonal level. The SOP specifies standards for watering, plantation, and upkeep that will be built into future contracts. A minimum of one gardener per 2,500 sq m of green area must be deployed, with workers wearing uniforms approved by the engineer-in-charge. Non-compliance will attract a penalty of ₹50 per worker per day.

Senior officials said the new guidelines are aimed at reducing accidents and improving visibility on Delhi’s roads. “The horticulture wing of the PWD has also been directed to ensure tree branches, plants and shrubs on footpaths and central verges do not obstruct the view of traffic lights, road signage, U-turns, etc., and proper cleaning of central verges and footpaths is done,” a PWD official said, requesting anonymity.