New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) The DDA has so far planted 8.29 lakh saplings across Delhi as part of the ongoing plantation season, which commenced in the first week of July and will continue till mid-September 2026, an official said on Monday.
The saplings comprise 35,570 trees and 7.93 lakh shrubs. In the Ridge areas, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has planted 27,062 saplings, including 12,506 trees and 14,556 shrubs, the official said in a statement.
As directed by Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the DDA is undertaking the ecological restoration of the Delhi Ridge through a scientifically designed grid-based, multi-tier plantation model using indigenous tree and shrub species, the statement said.
The restoration programme is being implemented in accordance with the approved Working Plan for the Delhi Ridge and forms part of the 70 Lakh Plantation Mission launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign on July 7, it said.
The DDA has been entrusted with planting 23 lakh indigenous saplings across the National Capital, it said.
The initiative marks a shift from conventional plantation drives towards landscape-scale ecological restoration aimed at rebuilding self-sustaining native forest ecosystems and strengthening Delhi’s biodiversity, environmental resilience and natural infrastructure, said the DDA.
During his visit to the Ridge in May, the Lieutenant Governor reviewed the ecological condition of the area. He directed DDA to undertake scientific restoration measures to revive the Ridge ecosystem by replacing invasive vegetation with native species and ensuring sustained post-plantation maintenance.
Acting on these directions, DDA has taken up ecological restoration over approximately 120 hectares across South Central Ridge, Central Ridge, Kamla Nehru Ridge and Nanakpura Ridge, said the statement.
The programme envisages the removal of approximately 16,240 invasive trees and shrubs and plantation of nearly 1 lakh indigenous trees and 81,700 native shrubs. The objective is not merely to increase green cover, but to restore the original structure, composition and ecological functions of Delhi’s native Ridge forests, it said.
The indigenous species being planted include Bargad, Peepal, Neem, Sheesham, Arjun, Jamun, Dhak (Palash), Dhau and Khejri, along with native shrubs such as Harshringar, Karonda, Phalsa, Nirgundi and Curry Leaf, while naturally occurring native vegetation has been carefully retained and protected.
–IANS
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