With a number of plants planted along the roadside dying for lack of proper watering, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday reviewed their status and issued directions that they be watered properly with treated water.
At a high-level meeting attended by Principal Secretary to the CM, Principal Secretary Public Works Department, Environment Secretary, New Delhi Municipal Council Secretary and senior officers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Jal Board and other agencies, the Chief Minister stressed the need for using treated water from the sewage treatment plants of the DJB to irrigate the green areas.
The meeting was told that the Delhi Jal Board was in the process of mapping the command area for all its STPs which would enable the agencies to make available treated water for the plants along the roads.
Blank patches
Ms. Dikshit directed all the departments to take care of the plants along the roads as they have enriched the aesthetic appeal of the Capital city. She added that dried plants have created several blank patches on the roadsides and central verges.
The Chief Minister said that as palm plants were drying up in large numbers, they should be replaced with ecologically suitable species in the month of February.
She also said that watering the plants was equally important during winter for their proper growth.
‘Coordinate efforts'
The Chief Minister also directed the Delhi Gardens and Parks Society to coordinate with all the agencies for maintaining greenery on the roadsides, central verges and roundabouts. It was also decided to prepare a database of all the roads based on GIS mapping.
As for pruning, Ms. Dikshit said it should be done, wherever necessary, under the supervision of the officers of the Forest Department.
