Indian army submits report to ngt on deforestation and reforestation efforts in central ridge

New Delhi: The Indian Army submitted a report to the National Green Tribunal regarding the deforestation of over eight hectares of land falling in the Central Ridge in the city.
The Army said it had substituted for the fallen trees by creating a Miyawaki forest of 22,000 native trees in the same area, while an additional 20,000 trees were planted later. NGT had raised the issue after TOI reported about the massive deforestation the Army undertook in the area.
In Dec 2023, TOI had reported that Delhi govt's forest and wildlife department served a notice to the Quarter Master General, Army Headquarters, about the offence allegedly committed by clearing an area of approximately 8.8 hectares in the Central Ridge, as shown on Google Earth images and confirmed later by a field visit. The forest department claimed that the trees were chopped down in violation of the Delhi Preservation of Tree Act, 1994, Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and Indian Forest Act, 1927. NGT took suo motu cognisance of the matter and sought an explanation from the Army.
61 Cavalry's B Squadron, which is the custodian of the land, responded that it utilised the allocated land for infrastructure development, training and billeting of troops. "On the 8.8 hectares of land under question, the unit planted additional 20,000 indigenous trees which are currently 4-5 feet high but are not visible in the Google Earth satellite imagery of April 2023," the reply submitted to NGT last Dec but upload on the tribunal's site on April 17, said. "Also, there are 90 kikar trees that cannot be discerned in Google images being scattered and with few leaves when the image was taken."
The reply also asserted that no trees were uprooted or felled and only around 20 fallen or dry trees were moved to the periphery to create a natural barrier. "These fallen trees are still lying on the site. Apart from these trees, the area consisted of heavy undergrowth of large bushes, shrubs and foliage, which was cleared. The very fact that the fallen/dry trees are still lying there indicates that there is no malafide intention on the part of the Army," the reply said.
The reply added that it was communicated to the forest department that it had been decided to replace the invasive kikar species with an indigenous variety of trees in the Ridge area along Sardar Patel Marg. "While initiating the reforestation project, prior sanction/consultation was not taken from the forest department which was an omission on the part of the Army," the Army admitted, while asserting that it had since planted 42,000 native trees in the area under question.