To compensate for 766 trees, which are being removed for widening of Mehrauli-Mahipalpur road in Vasant Kunj, the public works department (PWD) has started a drive to plant 7,000 new saplings.
The Speaker of Delhi assembly, Yoganand Shastri, inaugurated the plantation drive on Monday. On Day 1, the agency planted about 100 saplings.
The 3.5-kilometre stretch - from Andheria Mod to NH8 - has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, as scores of trees were felled, allegedly without permission, for widening of the road.
Senior PWD officials said they had carried out a joint survey with the forest department and identified trees that were to be uprooted and also decided on planting new saplings.
"More than 25% of the area along the stretch is being left kuchha and as multi-utility-zone. Most of this space is being used for tree plantation and greenery," a senior PWD official said.