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New Delhi: Almost a month after several trees were uprooted and branches damaged during a squall in the Capital, lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on Friday morning launched a New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) campaign to scientifically prune overgrown and dead branches of old trees in Connaught Place.

Saxena said that the pruning exercise will be completed within three weeks. “Officials are directed to ensure that the exercise is undertaken strictly between 4am and 8am so that people are not inconvenienced and traffic is not held up,” Saxena said.

After the squall on May 30, NDMC officials had reported that over 102 trees had been uprooted and they had cleared 1,058 damaged branches from Lutyens’ Delhi in the next two days. The scale of damage was so huge that apart from the NDMC, other bodies like National Disaster Response Force, Municipal Council of Delhi, NBCC, National Highways Authority of India and the disaster management department had to deploy their staff and resources to clear the arterial roads in central Delhi of debris.

To be sure, central Delhi is the greenest part of the city. While the NDMC area covers just 3% of Delhi’s total geographical area of Delhi, but 64.5% of the area forms the green cover.

During pruning operations on Friday, which took place with the help of SPPM (self-propelled platform machines), Saxena said that scientific pruning will not only help the trees withstand heavy storms and cyclonic winds, but also enhance their health while adding to the beauty of the city.

While NDMC has been using tree ambulances and SPPMs to maintain tree health for several years, LG Saxena instructed officials to procure more SPMMs to complete the work in time, underlining that NDMC should have its own machines and not solely depend on contractual outsourcing.

NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said that said that NDMC is committed to protecting trees and preserving nature and the council will start an initiative “Mission Peepal” under which all extraneous trees and branches will be removed from heritage buildings in Connaught Place.

“NDMC will survey these areas and buildings and thereafter scientifically prune overgrown and dead branches of old trees. We will also collaborate with Market Traders Associations (MTAs) for the purpose. Necessary directions have been issued to the horticulture department to upgrade to modern equipment,” he added.

An NDMC official said that most unwanted plants that grow in buildings are “peepal”.

“Best way to get rid of peepal trees (Ficus religiosa) from roofs and walls is to use glyphosate. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in non-selective, systemic herbicides and kills weeds and weed roots in landscape settings,” the official said.

He explained that fast-growing trees close to buildings can cause unequal settlement wherein active tree roots dry out the soil causing differential soil shrinkage. “As trees grow and the root systems become more expansive, they absorb more moisture from a larger area, and the soil shrinks further, this causes movement of the ground. This ground movement can lead to subsidence and eventually, damage to building foundations,” he added.

The NDMC official said that pruning is a healthy procedure that can remove portions o trees that have a disease, fungus, and other types of decay, stopping it from spreading to healthier branches. “Removing these branches can also expose the others to more sunlight and air circulation, which also helps to reduce the incidence of disease and encourages fruit production,” the official said.

In the past, there have been multiple judgements on protecting Delhi’s existing trees, which includes a Delhi high court order and a National Green Tribunal order, requiring for a 1-metre or 6x6 feet radius to be left around a tree – allowing it to get water and its roots to be nourished. A forest department order issued in 2015 states any agency that does not leave room around a tree will be fined ₹ 10,000 per tree, however, these judgements and orders are rarely enforced.

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