Delhi To Get Tree Shield To Combat Dust Storms

A natural barrier is being planned to act as a shield against dust storms in National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi, NDTV has reported. Around 31 lakh trees will be planted around the region to act as a shield.

A senior official of Union Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate change is reported to have said that the Centre and Delhi government have started planting the saplings. The official is further quoted to have said, “sufficiently tall and dense trees like those of ‘pilkhan, goolar, mango, mahua’ and other native trees have been chosen for this scheme”. ‘Pepul, neem, banyan, berry, amla (Indian gooseberry), jamun, amltash, harre, bahera’ are some of the other trees listed to be planted.

Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will be planting most of the trees. The authorities will be nurturing the trees for two years after which, a “survival audit” will be conducted by an independent body from March 2019. Forest Research Institute-Dehradun is being proposed to conduct the audit, the report stated further.

The NCT among other parts of North India have been facing severe dust storms over the years leading to loss of life and infrastructure. The tree shield will also help reduce the chronic air pollution in the region.