New Delhi: As many as 43% of the trees transplanted for the Narendra Modi government’s marquee ₹20,000 crore Central Vista project have perished, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday. The highest number of tree transplantations for the Central Vista Project originated from the CCS (Common Central Secretariat buildings, later renamed as Kartavya Bhawans) 1, 2, and 3 sites, which accounted for 1,734 trees, while sites of CCS 6 and 7 saw 458 trees transplanted. The new Parliament Building site saw 402 trees transplanted while the VP Enclave site saw 390 trees transplanted. (Representational image.)
The Centre said that a total of 3,609 trees have been transplanted, and 1,545 of them have perished post-transplantation.
Other than transplantation, the Union government said a total of 24,450 trees were planted as compensatory plantation. “24,450 nos. of trees in NTPC ECO Park, Badarpur and 1,730 nos. of trees in Ghitorni have been planted under compensatory plantation,” Union minister of state for housing and urban affairs Tokhan Sahu mentioned, replying to a question by TMC MP Mohua Moitra.
The Centre also informed that a sum of ₹5.29 crore has been spent on these activities spread over the last three financial years.
The highest number of tree transplantations for the Central Vista Project originated from the CCS (Common Central Secretariat buildings, later renamed as Kartavya Bhawans) 1, 2, and 3 sites, which accounted for 1,734 trees, while sites of CCS 6 and 7 saw 458 trees transplanted. The new Parliament Building site saw 402 trees transplanted while the VP Enclave site saw 390 trees transplanted.
The NTPC ECO Park in Badarpur was the site which received the most number of transplanted trees. Other sites include Ghata Masjid and Krishna Menon Marg which received 342 trees from the Executive Enclave (PM’’s office or Seva Teerth).
While the Central Vista project is now in its last leg, the project had faced significant delays due to the pandemic and also legal uncertainty because of disputes over environmental and land-use clearances which eventually went to the Supreme Court.
In December 2020, the Supreme Court, after noting that the Centre had already begun construction and trees shifting in the area despite the legal challenge to the environmental clearance, had also ordered the government to halt all construction and ancillary activities in the Central Vista until the court’s final verdict. However, the project received a green signal from the apex court in January 2021.