The new Thal Sena Bhawan (Army Headquarters) will come up soon in the Delhi Cantonment area after Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has cleared the proposal with the approval of transplantation of 579 trees and plantation of 5,790 saplings in the area.
The removal and transplantation of 579 trees will aid in the construction of the new Indian Army Headquarters at the Sena Bhavan project site.
The Union Ministry of Defence had sent a proposal to remove and transplant 579 trees to clear its construction site. On Thursday, Kejriwal cleared the path for the project by approving the proposal, against the condition that the Ministry of Defence take up the plantation of 5,790 trees as per the plan.
The Ministry of Defence has proposed the construction of the Thal Sena Bhavan in Delhi Cantt. The ministry intends to develop the site as a state-of-the-art facility for the army.
However, certain patches of trees are obstructing the construction of the site. Thus, the ministry wrote a letter to the Delhi government seeking approval for the removal and transplantation of 579 trees to clear the site.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai placed the proposal regarding the same in front of the Chief Minister. Subsequently, the CM granted his approval for the same.
Given the importance of the modern infrastructure for the Indian Army, the Delhi chief minister gave his nod to speed up the work by clearing the patch, in the national interest. The approval will help the army modernise its day-to-day activities and give them access to better facilities.
Approving the proposal, the Delhi Government has noted that out of the 579 trees, the Ministry will transplant 476, while it will take up the felling of only 103.
The transplantation will take place at the identified project site. The Delhi Government has further asked the Ministry to not 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 damaged, it shall constitute an offence under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act 1994.
The Delhi Government has further made it mandatory for the Ministry of Defence to plant ten times the trees, in lieu of their removal and transplantation.
The MoD will be planting the new 5,790 trees around the site to maintain ecological balance. Thus, they will now plant 5,790 new tree saplings, besides transplanting 82 per cent of the trees at the site.
These trees will be planted on the identified land parcels within 3 months from the date on which the permission for their shifting is issued. The MoD will further take on the responsibility of maintaining the trees for the next seven years, as per the Delhi Government’s guidelines.
As per the proposal approved by the Delhi Government, various species of trees that suit the soil and climate of Delhi will be planted in lieu of the removal and transplantation of the trees. These include Neem, Amaltas, Pipal, Pilkhan, Gular, Bargad, Desi Kikar and Arjun among other species. These trees will be planted as saplings, 6-8 feet tall, on non-forest lands.
As for the trees that have to be transplanted, the Ministry has been asked to start the process immediately after fulfilling the requisite conditions and complete it within 6 months. The MoD will further submit a report on the same to the Tree Officer for supervision.