Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, chaired a high-level review meeting today in New Delhi, to review the ongoing preparation for plantation efforts for greening Delhi-NCR region. The meeting was attended by the Secretary (EFCC), along with other senior officers of the Ministry and Principal Chief Conservators of Forests (PCCFs) of Haryana, Government of NCT of Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

The meeting focused on adopting a scientifically-planned, community-engaging and convergence-based approach for enhancing green cover across the NCR. This goal is envisioned to be achieved through a comprehensive district-wise action plan. It will comprise of both rural and urban areas, involving forest land as well as other government land and identify land parcels in the urban areas belonging to Urban Local bodies.

Comprehensive Mapping of Green and Public Spaces

During the meeting, the Minister reviewed the progress of identification of areas of plantation for 2026-27 and asked the NCR States to undertake a detailed district-wise planning, incorporating inter-alia the following:

• Identification of total forest areas, Protected Areas, Zoos (existing and proposed) Community forests, revenue forests, Nagar Vans/Namo Parks (proposed and approved)
• Identification and mapping of degraded forest land,
• Catchment areas of rivers, water bodies, wetlands and Ramsar sites
• Other public spaces under different authorities including Revenue lands, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)
• Classification of above areas based on quality of existing vegetation and managing agencies
• Nurseries in rural and urban areas
• Convergence of resources available with different agencies

Shri Yadav also stressed that all Eco-Clubs in NCR should be identified and mapped for their engagement in awareness generation as well as active participation in plantation and maintenance activities. He desired that Natural History as well as its regional centers should be actively involved in the plantation efforts. States were also requested to map all existing nurseries along with their current production capacities and assess the requirement for their strengthening to meet future plantation needs. Based on above data, States agreed to do a detailed spatial analysis to identify areas suitable for plantation, type of plantation activities to be undertaken and stakeholders to be involved in those plantation activities and prepare the district wise detailed Action Plan.

Preparation of District-Level Micro Plans for Next Five Years

The Union Minister called on the States to assess all existing forest and wildlife management plans factoring in the directions of Hon’ble Courts applicable in the NCR region and prepare a Micro Plan for the next five years, clearly identifying:

• Areas to be taken up for plantation each year,
• Implementing agencies,
• Opportunities for community participation,
• Nature of plantation interventions
• Nurseries and sources of quality planting material, and
• Mapping of funding sources under existing schemes such as the Green India Mission, Nagar Van Yojana, Green Credit Programme (GCP), Compensatory Afforestation Fund, State funds, MGNREGA, river rejuvenation programmes/schemes, and other relevant schemes.

Further, he stressed upon identification of all the areas affected by invasive species, and eco-restoration of such areas to be made an integral component of the Micro Plans developed.

The Minister emphasized that the Micro Plans should also indicate the departments and ministries requiring convergence for effective implementation so that there is effective coordination amongst all the stakeholders. He underscored on preparing a list of all ongoing litigations related to projects in the districts and assess the issues involved to address key regulatory constraints.

Preparation of a Five-Year Greening Plan for NCR

Shri Yadav asked officials of the Ministry to prepare a Five-Year Greening Plan for the National Capital Region by consolidating the district-wise Micro Plans prepared by the States. Based on this integrated plan, coordinated actions will be initiated for ensuring necessary facilitation which would, amongst other benefits also support in the fulfilment of the greening plantation efforts being monitored by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).

FSI Support and Green Credit Programme

The Minister asked the Forest Survey of India (FSI) to provide the States with data on degraded forest lands and areas affected by invasive species for incorporation into the State planning process. He asked all the States to identify degraded forest lands and make them available on the Green Credit Programme (GCP) portal to enable participation of individuals, public and private entities in eco-restoration activities in alignment with the approved Micro Plans.

Shri Yadav emphasized that a scientifically-planned, technology-enabled and convergence-based district wise greening strategy for Delhi and NCR is crucial for strengthening the ecological security of the NCR and achieving sustained improvement in air quality over the long term. The Minister emphasized that the next meeting in this regard would be held shortly to review the progress of the action taken by the State Governments and Government of NCT of Delhi.

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VM

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