The Van Mahotsav event took place in Delhi today. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attended the occasion. The celebration started on July 9 and will continue until August 20. CM Kejriwal mentioned during the event that Delhi is currently a very green city.
There is a lot of greenery along the roads in Delhi. Around 23% of the city is covered with trees, either as individual trees or part of a forest, which is about one-fourth of the city’s perimeter. Despite the rapid growth of Delhi, its green cover is increasing instead of decreasing.
CM Kejriwal explained that when a city develops, new structures are built, roads are constructed, and trees are often cut down, leading to a decrease in greenery. However, in Delhi’s case, as the city is growing, the green cover is expanding. In 2001, only 10% of Delhi had vegetation, but in 2014, it increased to 20%. Currently, it stands at 23%.
Delhi has the highest green cover among major cities in India, surpassing Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. It also has more green space per capita than London and New York. The people of Delhi are delighted by this fact. However, CM Kejriwal emphasized the need to increase the green cover to 25% within the next 1-2 years and urged everyone not to let it decrease. In a single day, 5.5 lakh trees will be planted in Delhi.
CM Kejriwal also set a target of planting more than one crore trees this year. The main issue in Delhi is air pollution, which has significantly decreased between 2015 and 2023. Air pollution has been reduced by 30%. While the collective efforts of Delhi’s population have contributed to this improvement, more actions are required to further reduce air pollution.
