Delhi govt explores tech to check tree-felling – Hindustan Times

The Delhi forest and wildlife division is about to include expertise to trace the doable felling of timber, individuals conscious of the matter stated.

The event comes even because the Supreme Court docket has been listening to a contempt plea over the unlawful felling of over 1,100 timber in a notified forest of the southern Ridge by the Delhi Growth Authority (DDA). Whereas listening to the plea, the apex court docket had requested the forest division and Delhi’s Tree Authority (DTA) to maintain a continuing vigil on felling of timber sooner or later.

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Officers within the forest division stated in gentle of the highest court docket’s order, they’re planning to utilise LiDaR (Mild Detection and Ranging) — a distant sensing technique that makes use of lasers to measure distances and create 3D maps of objects — to map out Delhi’s inexperienced areas and monitor tree felling over a time frame. The identical expertise is at the moment being utilised to map out Delhi’s geo-morphological Ridge.

“In concept, it’s doable to map out all inexperienced cowl, as LiDaR expertise exhibits all options in an space, full with its form and elevation change. If a tree will get lower, it may possibly inform us during which space timber have been felled,” a senior forest official stated, on situation of anonymity.

The official stated {that a} administration plan for the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary is already being formulated by Wildlife Institute of India (WII). “An alternative choice is to geo-tag all timber, however this can once more require vital money and time,” the official stated.

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A second forest official stated that the plan is to have a look at a way that can alert the authorities instantly when a tree is felled.

“An actual-time mechanism exists with the Forest Survey of India (FSI), the place they get an alert if a tree is felled or if there’s a hearth in a set space. That is finished utilizing satellite tv for pc expertise. For a real-time mannequin, one thing comparable might should be explored,” the second official stated, additionally requesting anonymity.

The division is at the moment the price of totally different applied sciences earlier than finalising on one, the officers stated.

In 2000-01, the Delhi authorities deployed the territorial military ETF to revive and rehabilitate over 2,100 acres of the southern Ridge. For this, 132 Infantry Battalion (TA) ECO Rajput was deployed.

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The division additionally has plans to extend the variety of eco job power (ETF) personnel at the moment deployed within the southern Ridge from 200 staffers to round 400-450, the official stated.

“These further ETF members can be deployed in different forest areas of Delhi too, in addition to alongside the Yamuna floodplains,” the second forest official stated.

Environmental activist Bhavreen Kandhari stated the forest division must be extra vigilant on the bottom and be extra clear, although the transfer to include expertise is welcome. “Regardless of a number of court docket orders previously, the forest division nonetheless doesn’t show any knowledge on the variety of tree felling permissions given for any forest division in Delhi. Equally, there isn’t any knowledge on tree pruning. Till there’s transparency and a sturdy mechanism the place individuals can complain, such expertise is not going to assist,” she stated.