Delhi LG V K Saxena on Friday launched a sandalwood plantation drive in Qutabgarh village with 500 farmers planting 1,000 saplings of the expensive tree on the first day, officials said.
On July 3, Saxena had instructed officials to plant 10,000 sandalwood trees in Delhi. During the drive, he expressed the hope that these 1,000 trees, once grown to their full length in the next 10-12 years, will become a financial asset worth Rs 150 crore to the farmers, apart from providing the city with a fragrant green cover.
The LG said experts from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh had been roped in for training the farmers, who had undertaken the planation of sandalwood saplings on their plots, in grooming and upkeep of these trees.
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The LG also instructed officials from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) present on the occasion to ensure the maintenance of the rejuvenated ponds. He asked for deepening of one of the ponds and erection of railings around the other to ensure that it is not encroached and garbage and waste is not thrown into it.
Saxena has been insisting on the identification, rejuvenation and maintenance of water bodies in the capital in a mission-mode with the aim of making Delhi self-sufficient in its water needs.
Interacting with over a thousand farmers present on the occasion, the LG recalled his earlier association with the village when, as the KVIC chairman, he had facilitated apiculture (bee-keeping) and successful rejuvenation of a village pond in the locality.
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The New Delhi Municipal Council will also be planting 1,000 saplings of red and white sandalwood trees in "closed locations" like parks, gardens of residential societies due to security concerns.
(With PTI inputs)
