Just one third of trees transplanted last three years survived: Delhi forest dept

The Delhi Tree Transplantation Policy mandates at least 80% of all trees identified to be felled need to be transplanted, with at least 80% of these trees surviving the transplantation process.

New Delhi: Only one-third of the 16,461 trees transplanted in the national capital over the last three years have survived, according to data submitted by the forest department to the Delhi high court.

Only one-third of the 16,461 trees transplanted in the national capital over the last three years have survived, according to data submitted by the forest department to the Delhi high court. (HT PHOTO)

The data shows that only one infrastructure project in Delhi that involved transplantation of trees could meet the Delhi Tree Transplantation Policy’s survival rate threshold of 80%. Majority of these projects had a maximum tree survival rate of around 20%-30%, the data submitted as part of an affidavit in May this year shows.

This includes a meagre 7% survival rate for the Delhi Jal Board’s tree transplantation efforts for the rehabilitation of the Kondli Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). Out of the 4,425 trees transplanted for the Dwarka Expressway Project section from Shiv Murti to Road Under Bridge Sector 21, only 1,195 or 27% of the trees survived, and of the 927 trees being transplanted as part of NBCC’s Sarojini Nagar GPRA redevelopment project, only 222 or 24% of the trees have survived, the submission shows.

The Delhi Tree Transplantation Policy was officially notified in December, 2020. However, projects had started adhering to the guidelines 2019 onwards. The policy mandates at least 80% of all trees identified to be felled need to be transplanted, with at least 80% of these trees surviving the transplantation process. Transplantation could only be carried out through empanelled agencies identified by the government, with four such agencies identified last year, which had the required expertise in tree transplantation.

Among other projects mentioned in the affidavit include the ‘Proposed Expansion and Restoration project of Existing Parliament Building at Plot No. 118’ -- a part of the Central Vista project, which according to the forest department, saw a low 30% survival rate for its 404 transplanted trees. Another segment of the Dwarka Expressway project, for which 3736 trees were transplanted, only 1382 or 37% of the trees survived.

The affidavit mentioned 22 projects that involved tree transplantation over the last three years, out of which 100% tree transplantation was completed in 19 of these projects. However, if data submitted by the user agency was considered, which is part of the same submission made to the High Court, at least three different projects met the 80% survival rate threshold. In most cases, the survival rate analysed by the user agency for the project differed significantly with the survival rate mentioned by the forest department.

For instance, for the Okhla STP project by the DJB required transplantation of 18 trees and while the DJB pegged the survival rate at 80%, with 14 trees surviving, the forest department only said 12 of these trees had survived, pegging its own survival rate at 66%. While the forest department said only 1382 out of the 3736 trees survived for the Dwarka Expressway project survived, but NHAI, the user agency in its submission, said 2465 trees had survived the transplantation project. Similarly for the Central Vista Project, CPWD through its submission in the affidavit says the survival rate was assessed at 66% as compared to 30% by the forest department.

Officials say a difference in methodology and the time of assessment carried out by the user agency may be a factor behind the differing data between the forest department and the user agency.

“Trees for all projects were assessed prior to the submission in May, whereas the user agency may have carried out their assessment earlier. It is possible trees were healthy initially, but were unable to survive the transplantation process after a few months,” said a forest official, and added that for the tree to survive, the monsoon season, along with summer and winter periods provide different challenges. “It is possible the tree appears to be doing well initially, but is then unable to survive the winter, or the monsoon,” the official added.

Experts in Delhi say while skills and expertise in transplantation are important factors, the root type of the tree, its age and the soil regime all play a key role in whether or not the tree survives transplantation. “If a tree has deep tap roots, it is difficult to transport. This includes Jamun and Neem trees. On the other hand, trees like Banyan, Pilkhan or the fig family have surface roots and these can easily be cut and made into a ball,” says environmentalist Pradip Krishen, stating if the soil type and the moisture regime don’t match, then the tree will be unable to grow. “If a tree is taken from the Yamuna landscape to a rocky Aravalli terrain, it has little chance of survival,” he says.

Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmental activist, says a detailed tree preservation report should be prepared for each project, based on which a decision should be taken only if on-site preservation is possible.

“It is a flawed and dangerous premise that large mature trees can be transplanted successfully from their location. As we have seen already with trees transplanted from the Dwarka Expressway, tree transplantation is a very challenging process and the success rate in Delhi is practically zero due to the climatic and soil conditions, tree species involved and other resource requirements that are in short supply like water,” she said.

While the NHAI told HT that it will assess the reasons behind the differing figures, other agencies such as the DJB, NBCC and CPWD did not respond to queries for a comment. “We have not seen the forest department’s own assessment. We will try and analyse why there is a gap,” an NHAI official said.