Work begins on new city forecast at Aya Nagar

New Delhi, Jul 8 (UNI) The Delhi Government's Department of Environment and Forests today started work on developing third new city forest at Aya Nagar.

It is part of the nine city forests that the department has decided to develop this year as part of its greening programme.

The state department would soon initiate six similar projects to take the number of city forests to 32.

Around 200 children from neighbouring schools planted saplings in presence of state Principal Secretary (Home) G S Patnaik.

The state Department of Environment&Forest is now concentrating on the green development of the degraded forest area in Ridge to give a fillip to its compensatory plantation.

The compensatory plantation was earlier being undertaken on 'Gaon Sabha' land made available by the Development Department.

However, as enough such land was not available for this purpose, the degraded forest area was being put to use.

Compensatory afforestation against such land diversion is also proposed to be undertaken over double the area of the Ridge degraded forest land.

Initially, about 30 hectares of the degraded forest land in village Aya Nagar is proposed to be afforested in this manner. In addition, it is also proposed to raise compensatory plantation at Aya Nagar against trees permitted to be felled for the DMRC Projects under Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994 in South Delhi.

During the present year, 15,400 saplings are to be planted in this area against such cases.

UNI AR SYU HT1935