By IANS,
Chandigarh : At least 69,581 trees and 48,406 shrubs will be planted here by March next year, an official in the forest department said Friday.
The department has set the target under the Greening Chandigarh Action Plan. Already with 35.7 percent forest cover, Chandigarh tops the list of greenest cities in Asia. In India, Delhi follows Chandigarh with nearly 20 percent forest cover.
“We are the greenest city of Asia and all set to become greenest in the world very soon. Out of its 114 square-kilometer area, the Chandigarh has about 41 square-kilometers under the forest cover and an additional nine square-kilometers under tree cover,” said Ishwar Singh, Union Territory conservator of forests.
“Whereas our country has 20.3 percent area under forest cover and only three percent under tree cover. In Chandigarh, there is an incremental growth not only in the area under forests but also in their quality which is measured by density,” he added.
According to the State Forest Report 2007, the forest cover in Chandigarh has increased to 35.7 percent of its total geographical area as compared to 29.3 percent in 2003 and only 21 percent in 1991.
This green cover has exceeded the 33 percent target set by the National forest policy of India that is required to maintain ecological balance and environmental cleanliness.
The total green cover area in India is 23.5 percent.
“Chandigarh has exceeded the target of 33 percent despite the fact that it is mainly an urban area where construction activity is in abundance,” pointed out Singh.