Delhi LG approves transplantation, felling of trees for Thal Sena Bhavan

New Delhi [India], February 3 (ANI): Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Friday approved the proposal of afforestation and compensatory plantation of trees for the construction of Thal Sena Bhawan in the cantonment area of the national capital.

The Ministry of Defence had proposed the construction of the Thal Sena Bhavan in Delhi Cantonment and it intends to develop the site as a state-of-the-art facility for the army. The LG recorded his appreciation on file for the timely action taken by Environment Department and Minister and said, “I hope that the Department, Minister and Chief Minister will continue to work in the same earnest and with the same alacrity in the future, thereby avoiding delays in execution of projects.”

Earlier the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal approved the transplantation and felling of 579 trees from the site. Of the total trees, 103 will be felled and 476 will be transplanted. The Delhi government has asked the defence ministry not to damage a single tree at the site other than those that have been identified and approved by the government. If any tree apart from the approved ones is injured, it will constitute an offence under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994.

Notably, the Union Ministry of Defence (MoD) had sent a proposal to remove and transplant 579 trees to clear its construction site. The CM has approved the proposal with a mandated compensatory plantation of 5,790 saplings around the site to maintain the ecological balance.

The MoD will further take on the responsibility of maintaining the trees for the next seven years, per the Delhi Government’s guidelines.