The 783-acre city forest in Mehrauli, part of South Central Ridge, is managed and maintained by DDA. New Delhi: Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is cutting invasive trees, especially vilayati kikars, at Sanjay Van these days as part of the eco-restoration programme for Delhi Ridge.
It is about healing, looking after the soil and the microorganisms that live in the top 3 or 4 inches of a living soil.
The authority is also digging pits simultaneously to plant native saplings,” said officials. But none of this figures in the working plan,” he said. “Under the approved working plan for Delhi Ridge, as formulated by Forest Research Institute (FRI), only the invasive species, particularly Prosopis juliflora (vilayati kikar), are being removed in accordance with the prescribed guidelines. “It treats all of Delhi’s forests and biodiversity parks like timber plantations. Restoration is about recovering the natural functions and processes of a degraded ecosystem.
The project of removal of the species from a small patch in Central Ridge started in 2022. Following the preparation of Delhi’s first 10-year working plan by FRI, the forest department initiated the removal of vilayati kikar from 120 hectares of Central Ridge and 600 hectares of Southern Ridge. The working plan will be in force till 2036-37 and focuses on removing three major invasive tree species — vilayati kikar, eucalyptus and leucaena leucocephala — together accounting for nearly 40% of the city’s forest growing stock.
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