Delhi govt plans to increase roadside green cover, seeks report from agencies in next 15 days

New Delhi [India], May 18 (ANI): To boost green cover on roads in the national capital, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai convened a high-level joint review meeting with officers from all concerned departments to augment the city's roadside green cover.
The meeting included representatives from the Forest Department, Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and other road-owning agencies.
To combat dust pollution, all road-owning agencies have been given orders to provide a report in the next 15 days on how they plan to boost roadside green cover.
In a statement, the environment minister said, ''All road-owning authorities were given directives to formulate an action plan to tackle the city's increasing dust pollution."
The presence of roadside green cover will be assessed by all road-owning authorities in Delhi. Furthermore, agencies will conduct road mapping to determine the amount and type of green cover available in each location, Rai said.
"Agencies can select what additional action to take by categorizing it into better and worse categories. There will also be a mapping of areas with little to no green cover," he said.
Based on such road mapping, all road-owning agencies will develop action plans.
"The report will be sent to the environment department in the next 15 days. As a result, a new action plan to expand Delhi's green cover will be established," he added.
The minister said, ''The PWD has already been given directives to boost the amount of green cover along Delhi's roadsides. Today, additional directives were issued to cover other road-owning corporations."
To increase the amount of green cover along Delhi's roadsides, teams will be deployed at the district level, Rai said.
PWD will also establish a Central Monitoring Team, which will include officers from relevant departments such as PWD, NDPL, Delhi Jal Board, BSES, and others.
"This action plan to boost roadside green cover would aid in the improvement of the environment and pollution management in Delhi," he added. (ANI)