Delhi roads to be lined with trees, stonework over 500 km to check dust pollution

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday convened a high-level meeting where experts and PWD officials made presentations.

As part of its upcoming ‘Green Budget’, the Delhi government will spruce up 500 kilometres of roads with greenery in a bid to curb dust pollution in the Capital.

An artist’s impression of how a road will look.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has been given the task of beautifying and landscaping all roads with a width of over 100 feet . “The chief minister has set target of one year to complete the landscaping of all such roads. It will be done on the lines of the approach road to terminal T3 of Delhi airport,” a government official said.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday convened a high-level meeting where experts and PWD officials made presentations. PWD minister Satyendar Jain was present.

According to officials, grass and plants will be grown on the space on the divider and near pavements.

Plants such as Foxtail Palm, Washington Palm, Tabeuia Argentea, Casuarina Shrub, Chorisia Speciosa, Raphis Excesia, Ficus Panda will be used in the landscaping drive.

As a case study, a plan to redevelop Deen Dayal Upadhyay Road was shown in the presentation. The experts showed how the space on both sides of the road and the divider can be beautified with a variety of plants and grass.

“This will help control dust particulate matter. The grass and the plants will not leave dry and open space for dust to fly. The project includes hardscaping (stone work on footpaths), softscaping (horticulture work), designing, pedestrian lighting and surface touching,” the official said.

A private agency will execute the project and tenders will be floated soon. “Design, execution and maintenance of greenery on these roads will be done under the contract by the agency. Maintenance for two to five years of the roads landscaped will be under the contract,” the official said.