Central Vista project records 43% loss in transplanted trees

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like Nearly 43% of the trees transplanted for the central government’s ₹20,000-crore Central Vista redevelopment project have perished, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Construction work underway in the Central Vista redevelopment project in New Delhi in 2021. (Arvind Yadav/HT File Photo)The government said a total of 3,609 trees were transplanted for the project, of which 1,545 did not survive after transplantation. Providing details in a written reply to a question by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mohua Moitra, minister of state for housing and urban affairs Tokhan Sahu said compensatory plantation was also undertaken alongside transplantation efforts. “As many as 24,450 trees in NTPC ECO Park, Badarpur and 1,730 trees in Ghitorni have been planted under compensatory plantation,” Sahu stated. The Centre added that ₹5.29 crore has been spent on these activities over the last three financial years. Among project sites, the highest number of tree transplantations took place at the Common Central Secretariat (CCS) buildings 1, 2 and 3 — later renamed Kartavya Bhawans — where 1,734 trees were shifted. This was followed by 458 trees at CCS 6 and 7 sites, 402 at the new Parliament Building site and 390 at the Vice President’s Enclave. The NTPC ECO Park in Badarpur received the largest number of transplanted trees, while other locations such as Ghata Masjid and Krishna Menon Marg received 342 trees shifted from the Executive Enclave, also known as Seva Teerth, which houses the Prime Minister’s Office. The Central Vista redevelopment project, now in its final phase, had earlier faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and legal challenges over environmental and land-use clearances. In December 2020, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to halt construction and tree-shifting activities in the Central Vista area after noting that work had begun despite pending legal challenges to environmental clearance. The project was subsequently cleared by the apex court in January 2021.