About 11,000 trees had already been cut바카라fallen soldiers in a grim battle with 바카라development바카라바카라before the Delhi High Court moved in with a last-minute stay on June 25.
The abundant verdure that바카라s a signature of the Delhi aesthetic바카라especially the parts that run along a north-south meridian, including the planned city at its nucleus바카라is facing a threat. Seven ageing but genteel colonies on the southern fringes of Lutyens바카라 Delhi are encumbered with fancy new development projects. All of them boast lush green vegetation, and 바카라redevelopment바카라 means sacrificing 16,500 full-grown trees.
About 11,000 trees had already been cut바카라fallen soldiers in a grim battle with 바카라development바카라바카라before the Delhi High Court moved in with a last-minute stay on June 25. Not only is the threat still alive for the rest, it sets in place a model of unrestrained growth in heritage zones. Thousands of trees felled, that too at a time when Delhi바카라s deadening smog has made it the world바카라s most polluted megacity, had naturally raised enough doubts for the court.
Netaji Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Sarojini Nagar바카라it바카라s a litany of familiar names. For decades, they made for a quiet, green, if a touch drab townscape바카라quarters for government employees, where a few generations have grown up. Now the whole lot is enlisted with big plans바카라multi-storeyed commercial and residential complexes, complete with mammoth parking bays, to be anchored by the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC), a Navratna PSU that operates under the Urban Development Ministry.
In times when they are speaking of the desert advancing on Delhi, people look back with nostalgia at the days when human habitation was plotted around greenery. It was natural, then, that citizens were the first to respond. On Sunday, June 24, protesters gathered at Sarojini Nagar, embracing trees, carrying placards saying 바카라Mujhe Mat Maaro바카라, and 바카라Don바카라t cut down a life바카라. The idea of a mass murder of trees had stirred the generations that had known the shade of the neem, the peepal and the jamun. It was earlier the trigger for a Facebook group to be formed: Delhi Trees SOS eventually spearheaded the campaign.
The citizens바카라 ire prompted the Delhi High Court to stay NBCC바카라s plan till July 4, the date of hearing. Is ecocide the only way forward for the city, the court has asked NBCC. As per the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a total of 16,500 trees will be felled for the 바카라smart city바카라 project바카라11,000 trees in Sarojini Nagar are already felled; 3,003 trees in Netaji Nagar and 1,465 in Nauroji Nagar await the axe.
바카라Delhi바카라s aesthetics would completely change with this plan. And pollution is going to worsen,바카라 says Juhi Saklani, an environmental photographer who led the Delhi Trees SOS campaign. 바카라It바카라s suicidal,바카라 says environmental lawyer Aditya Prasad, gloomily. In the winter that passed, Delhi witnessed heavy smog that literally went off the charts; it바카라s been a perilous summer too.
As for aesthetics, passers-by these days would see the rare sight of a city in transition. The old quarters at Netaji Nagar lie crumbled down to the ground. Mean-looking JCBs lurk. Along its avenues, gigantic, healthy trees still stand sentinel, lending the flavour of nature to the scene. A tranquility that would be breached by traffic and pollution once the 바카라smart city바카라 comes up.
For its part, the NBCC is aiming for state-of-the-art structures, including basement parking that can handle 70,000 cars. The revamped architecture also plans to incorporate green building features, rainwater harvesting, waste management and a new 바카라green belt바카라. Says an NBCC official, 바카라Utmost care is being taken to protect the environment. Our vision is to develop Delhi in the most planned, sustainable manner.바카라
Pradip Krishen, filmmaker and environmentalist who has been studying trees since 1995, and part of the Delhi Trees SOS campaign, isn바카라t convinced. 바카라It sometimes happens that engineers and planners find it easier to create a clean slate바카라by removing everything바카라rather than plan around old trees,바카라 he says. 바카라But in this case, their disregard of old trees hasn바카라t happened because of laziness or convenience. It바카라s cynical and deliberate and betrays a complete lack of understanding of why trees are important, useful and desirable.바카라
Manju Menon, senior fellow for environmental law and governance at the Centre for Policy Research, points to a common sleight of hand. 바카라Tree felling in cities and deforestation in general has been permitted by governments in the name of 바카라compensatory forestation바카라. We are given to understand that this makes up for the loss of green cover and so it바카라s okay to pursue development that destroys ecological features and habitats. But research shows compensatory forestation has been a grand failure.바카라
Not many are pacified by claims of an illusory 바카라green belt바카라 replacing real trees. 바카라The attitude is reprehensible and must change. It바카라s a matter of telling them how to assign importance to old trees. To make their plans factoring in the existence of old trees. It바카라s as simple as that,바카라 says Pradip Krishen.