Delhi Chokes again!
Pollution level high!
Delhi Air Toxic!
Such taglines are common when reporting the news. And we all question what we can do for Delhi to have clean air.
The answer is simple- TREES, the living being that the Delhi Union Minister plans to cut down for the housing complex of the government officials.
Delhi Union Minister of housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri had faced backlash over the decision to “cut over 16,500 trees” for housing projects in South Delhi. The minister has been in the eye of the storm ever since the plan came to light earlier this week.
The cut-down trees would be compensated for, with the ratio 1:10 the minister had assured. He argued that the plan had measures of necessary reforestation and the redevelopment plan of the seven government colonies will result in an increase of green cover by about three times the existing green space.
But the Delhiites were not pleased with the plan, stating that some trees were as old as 50 years and simply cannot be replaced with another one. Even Twitter accounts too chirped against Puri’s redevelopment plans.
READ ALSO: 17,000 trees in South Delhi chopped for the redevelopment of Central government housing
Managing director of NBCC Anoop Kumar Mittal in an interview to an agency, however, claimed that the number of trees slated to be cut is much lesser than what is being reported.
That was what happened till the 24th of June.
As on today- the 25th of June 2018, the Delhiites have gathered expressing their disapproval of the plan, with protests and placards and hugging trees from being cut.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has declared that “no tree will be cut” on his watch. At the same time, he appeared to indicate on Monday that the plan would not be scrapped.
“Till the time I am a minister no tree will be cut and for every tree that is cut we will plant 10 trees. Green cover will go up by three times after re-development of seven colonies in South Delhi,” Mr Puri said, adding, “Young activists are too fast to blame.”
Residents, activists and environmentalists have launched protests against the government’s tree-cutting order. About 1,500 people have taken to tree-hugging protests in Sarojini Nagar, launching their own version of the “Chipko Movement”.
The project has also set off a political row with the BJP accusing Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of first giving the go-ahead and then protesting as a “gimmick”.
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