No space left, forest dept cuts down on sapling target

Forests are being sacrificed in the name of development in the city. The forest department which had a target of planting 1.68 lakh saplings this year has reduced the same.

Forests are being sacrificed in the name of development in the city.

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The forest department which had a target of planting 1.68 lakh saplings this year has reduced the same.

Highly placed sources in the department said the target has been reduced by 35,000.

Notably, the forest cover of the city is depleting at a fast rate. Earlier too, it was decided the forest department will only be able to plant 12,500 plants in the Aravalli region as compared to the initial target of 75,000.

The forest department had a target of 8.5 lakh plants for Gurgaon district out of which five lakh were to be distributed among government departments and 3.5 lakh were to be planted under various schemes.

Previously, the survival rate of the saplings has been dismal. Out of three lakh saplings planted in 1999, only 1.32 lakh survived till 2011.

Land under forest cover has also reduced by 240 hectares. At present, 9,268 hectares are under green cover.

“We have to reduce the target, as we do not have forest land left to accommodate more saplings,” said BS Rana, additional district forest officer.