The Delhi government on Monday approved a proposal to conduct a third-party audit to assess the "success and survival rate" of all transplanted trees in the national capital, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said. Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute (FRI) has been roped in for this purpose, an official said. According to forest department data, 12,852 trees had been transplanted at 23 sites in the city till the end of last year. "The government has decided to conduct a third-party audit to assess the survival rate of all transplanted trees in the national capital," Rai said at a press conference. The audit will be conducted over a period of six months, the official said. The FRI had also conducted an audit of saplings planted in Delhi between 2016 and 2019.
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According to the audit report released in February, 72 per cent to 81 per cent of the saplings planted in Delhi between 2016 and 2019 have survived. The survival rate stood at 80.21 per cent in the North division. In the West division, 78.5 per cent of the saplings survived in the Alipur range and 75.68 per cent in the Najafgarh range, it said. In the South division, the survival rate was 72 per cent in Mehrauli, 76 per cent in Asola Bhatti Phase I and 81.33 per cent in Phase 2. In December 2020, the Delhi government had notified the Tree Transplantation Policy under which agencies concerned are required to transplant a minimum of 80 per cent of the trees affected by their development work. According to the policy, the benchmark tree survival rate at the end of one year of tree transplantation is 80 per cent.
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