Delhi seeks study to improve survival rates for transplanted trees

Delhi government seeks FRI's help to study tree transplantation, aiming to boost survival rates and revise the 2020 policy after low success rates.

The Delhi government has approached the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun to conduct a detailed study of tree transplantation process in the capital, focusing on improving the low survival rate of transplanted trees.

Delhi seeks study to improve survival rates for transplanted trees

Officials said the study, likely to take a year to complete, will also identify which species are most suitable for tree transplantation and which are not. Based on the findings, suitable changes to the Tree Transplantation Policy, 2020, will be made accordingly.

“The study will examine reasons for poor survival rate, including the process and technology being used,” a senior government official added.

“All aspects, including species, the girth of trees and their age, will be assessed to draw a correlation to the survival rate,” the official said.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government introduced the policy in 2020, which mandates that at least 80% of the trees being felled for a project need to be transplanted and at least 80% of those must survive. Though notified a year later, transplantation had already begun in Delhi since 2019. However, survival rate remains low.

According to an affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court in May 2022, the forest department said out of the 16,461 trees transplanted between 2019 until 2021, only 5,487 (33.33%) survived. During this period, 22 construction projects undertook transplantation and 19 projects completing it fully. However, only one project met the required 80% survival rate.

The Centre in a reply in the Lok Sabha last week said nearly 43% of the trees transplanted for the central government’s ₹20,000-crore Central Vista redevelopment project had perished and failed the transplantation process. The government said 3,609 trees were transplanted for the project, of which 1,545 did not survive.

Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in addition to looking at new technology for transplantation, they are also looking for a scientific approach.