The green cover in lutyens’ Zone in the national Capital is losing its distinctiveness of having a particular species of trees on each of its arterial roads. Not only the NDMC is planting new trees randomly on these roads but also ill-maintenance of the existing trees is damaging the unique characteristic of these areas.
For years, the specialty of this VIP zone has been that every road has its particular kind of trees on it. As officials put it, rampant construction activities particularly road widening has changed the soil texture in the area causing much harm to the trees. As a result, the dying trees are being replaced with different species of trees than what exists on the stretch.
Officials said unavailability of a particular species of tree when required also resulted in planting of different trees. For instance, officials said, Alstonia and Amaltas are being planted on Akbar Road that so far had only tamarind trees.
Similarly, Ficus benjamina, commonly known as the ficus tree, is being mixed with Jamun trees on Ashoka Road.
The plan which was
ideated by Edwin lutyens in
his vision to turn Delhi into a ‘Garden City’ was a permanent feature till recently that not only added aesthetic value to the area but also distinguished it from rest parts of the city.
“Arterial roads like Ashoka Road, Firoz Shah Road, Tughlak Road, India Gate, and Krishna Menon Marg, one would find only Jamun trees. Similarly, tamarind trees have been planted all along Akbar Road, Tilak Marg, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Pandit Pant Marg and Teen Murti Road. Neem, which has great antiviral and medicinal values, is available in abundance on Prithviraj Road, Shahjahan Road, lodhi Road, Aurangzeb Road, Sansad Marg and Aurobindo Marg,” said an official of the New Delhi Municipal Council.
Some other species of trees like Arjun (Terminalia Arjuna), Peepal, Maulshree and Bahera can also be found on different avenues in lutyens' zone.
"The planning by Sir lutyens was a holistic one. He along with his Gardener-in-Chief, WR Musto, carried out soil tests in all these places.
Based on these tests, specific trees were planted in these areas. Only those types of trees were planted which could thrive in that particular soil type," said Madan Thapliyal, former NDMC spokesperson and author of a Delhi-based book titled 'Rajdhani Dilli: Safar Ek Sadi Ka'.
However, rapid concretisation and lackadaisical attitude of the NDMC, the essence of these avenues has been lost.
"Many a trees have been affected due to road widening projects taken up particularly in wake of the Commonwealth Games. We are not able to maintain the existing pattern of trees as trees are not available depending on our requirements. Another problem is that we have to plant the second generation of trees at a distance of 11 feet from the existing trees. But, there are bungalows on the one side while there is road on the other. So we have no proper way to plan," said an NDMC official.
Elaborating on how the lutyens' zone was planned, Thapliyal said, "The height of the trees as well as buildings had to be the same at 45 feet. So if one would see from the top of a building, he would get a view of a green bed, which actually is the foliage of the tree. This idea of planting specific trees was mooted in 1916 and was completed by 1931. But now, everything has been spoilt as the NDMC is planting trees injudiciously without any soil test. Feeding of the first generation of trees is also improper."
To add to the apathy, the NDMC does not even have an accurate population of trees within its limits. "The last counting of trees was done in the year 2005 and the latest counting is going on for some years now. The reason for the delay is frequent interruptions in the counting process. The agency which does the counting leaves midway and we have to assign a new one," officials said.