Features / Knowledgebase

Letter from the President - Planting a million trees in Delhi !

Dear Friends,

Welcome to TreeDelhi.org!

TreeDelhi has come about directly in consequence of the high and almost intolerable levels of air pollution in Delhi and the knowledge that growing more trees, part of wider initiative, will give the people of Delhi a cleaner and healthier environment. It would also help combat Climate Change. (Click here for a description of Global Warming/CC , PDF Document) Our target is 30,000 trees in the first year (2013-14) , 70,000 trees in year2 and then 100,000 trees each following year so that, taking account of fatalities, we ought to achieve our target by around 2027-28.

Why Trees?

Planting trees is always a good idea. There is a saying that the best time to plant trees was 20 years ago. The second best time is now! Trees give us countless benefits. Apart from beautifying the surroundings they give shade, reduce temperatures and noise levels, improve soil quality, absorb carbon and pollutants. The increase in rainfall as a consequence of more trees is vitally required to replenish our diminishing ground water reserves. The list of benefits goes on

Why plant trees in Delhi?

Although parts of Delhi appear to have sufficient foliage, we are seriously short of trees commensurate to the population (over 16 million) and high pollution levels caused by cars, two wheelers, and three wheelers (each polluting as much as 50 cars!) and the enormous amount of dangerous chemical pollutants spread in our atmosphere due to air traffic which is increasing by the day! These include (bad)Ozone, Toluene, and Xylene with significant and immediate impacts on our internal organs and general health. One only has to look at the Delhi Delhi Pollution Control Board's website www. dpcc.delhigovt.nic.in and note that we have already exceeded acceptable limits. Air quality is also measured privately by Mr Samir Khosla, in one of the leafiest parts of Delhi- Pushpanjali Farms- gives a worrying picture.

If all the adults of Delhi's population (16 m) were persuaded to plant a tree each, we would have met our target with ease but this is not practical. Our objective therefore is to persuade and encourage institutions and people (specially thought leaders) to plant/care for trees. Our target is to plant at least a million trees– as soon as possible and certainly by the end of 2020. 'The govt and tree planting' describes the role of govt. for the environment of Delhi and its many services including providing free seeds/saplings for the citizens of Delhi. A list of such nurseries and other distribution points is given. There is also a list of commercial nurseries. TreeDelhi plans to have its own nurseries later this year in Delhi, Gurgaon and Panipat.

As part of our program, an attempt is being made to create eco-consciousness in schools and other institutions. See under Cutting the Carbon. For this we have partnered with 'Clean India', part of the 'Development Alternatives' started by Mr Ashok Khosla in 1996 which we hope will excite and enthuse students/others to plant/care for trees. Part of their presentation 'Cutting the Carbon' can be seen here. Schools and others may contact Ranjeeta Ghosh (+919560961433) or email at rghosh@devalt.org for further information/action and on how to measure your Carbon Footprint.

The trees to plant / The Neem Tree

There is a section on 'How to plant a Tree' with suggestions and tips. Fruit trees may be preferred and constitute most of the planting in homes; for others we like indigenous trees – Peepal, Philkhan, Semal, Jhinjeri, Kachnar, Sheesham etc but particularly- Neem. The latter is hardy, requires little water to grow and has a great CO2 absorption capacity producing equally large quantities of oxygen. It acts as a natural air filter by absorbing dust particles and because of its large leaf area it accumulates higher quantities of lead. A study by the National Engineering Research Institute in 1996 concluded that Neem was the most suitable species for checking urban pollution. You can read more of qualities of the 'Neem Tree' growing which can enable, for some entities, the accumulation of Carbon Credits.

On this page, we have created a counter for the number of trees planted. We will give credit to persons/institutions under Tree Planters to all those who let us know when and where they have planted a tree(s). Please do send photos of beautiful trees in Delhi/your planting(s), the best of which, chosen by our panel every month, will be on the website under Best Photos.

Finally should you wish to donate for the cause, you can click here.

Happy Planting!

Sumant Dhamija
President