New Delhi, July 31 -- Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Friday organised a massive single day plantation drive across Delhi, planting over one lakh native trees and shrubs at 77 locations as part of its large scale ecological restoration programme.

The initiative was among DDA's largest coordinated plantation drives. Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Sardar Taranjit Singh Sandhu led the drive at Kamla Nehru Ridge, where he planted native saplings along with around 200 participants, including students from St. Stephen's, Hindu, Hans Raj and Maharishi Valmiki colleges, students from Mamta Public School, Vikas Puri and Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Shakti Nagar, morning walkers and around 20 Resident Welfare Association members.

Sandhu directed DDA to make such plantation drives a regular practice and replicate the model across other Ridges in Delhi. Emphasising youth participation, he said such exercises should be driven by and aimed at the youth so that future generations become stakeholders in preserving and restoring ecology. He underlined the responsibility of the present generation to hand over an ecologically rich Delhi to those who come after.

The L-G also directed DDA to play a proactive role in increasing Delhi's green cover and appointed

nodal officers for each plantation site to ensure the survival and growth of saplings, with the officers being held accountable.

The Kamla Nehru Ridge plantation included indigenous species such as Dhok, Amaltas, Dhak and Gamhar. Simultaneous drives were held at 76 other locations, including Aravalli Biodiversity Park, Aastha Kunj Park, Sanjay Van, Narela, Paschim Puri, Hauz Khas, Vasant Udyan and Dilshad Garden Deer Park. The drive included Peepal, Neem, Jamun, Arjun, Shisham, Calendar Tecoma, Bougainvillea, Murraya, Hamelia and Chandni. The LG also reviewed hydrological restoration works at the Serpentine Lake and Butterfly Conservatory.

The drive is part of the 70 Lakh Plantation Mission under 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam', under which DDA has been entrusted with planting 23 lakh indigenous saplings, including a target of 1,81,700 trees and shrubs in the Ridge area during the current plantation season.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.