India, Aug. 11 -- New Delhi

A year on, a new hope.

A mini green ecosystem that was stripped bare in south Delhi's Chhattarpur is now showing signs of revival: green shoots, soft calls of peacocks and wild grass are cautiously stretching upwards, towards the sunlight, taking in the monsoon rain as conservation efforts seem to be bearing fruit.

A 2.3-kilometre stretch connecting the main Chhattarpur Road to the upcoming AIIMS-CAPFIMS campus was at the centre of the issue last year, as environmentalists estimated around 1,100 trees-many decades-old ones-were hacked between January and March to make a six-lane arterial road for institutional access. Residents alleged that the action was so swift that it seemed the area, overnight, had tran...