Transplanting trees could be a costly affair, warn experts

The Delhi government’s proposal to transplant at least 80% trees while approving future construction projects could come at a price. Experts said that the cost of transplanting one tree could vary anywhere between ₹15,000 and ₹30,000.

The draft policy on tree transplantation says that construction projects that require removal of more than 10 trees will be considered for transplantation. At present a user agency has to pay ₹57,000, with a refundable component of ₹25,000, to cut down a tree as charges for compensatory plantation for development and commercial projects.

The draft policy says that agencies would be empanelled to do the work, as it requires expertise. Experts and agencies involved in transplantation said that it could cost anywhere between ₹15,000 and ₹30,000 to transplant a tree.

The user agency still, however, will continue having to pay for ₹57,000 for compensatory plantation over and above the cost of replantation. If no land is available, then it would be the onus of the user agency to find out land for such transplantation.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) spends around Rs15,000 per tree to get it transplanted. The civic agency has already planted 20 trees.

“The cost of transplantation depends mainly on tree size. New Delhi Municipal Council transplanted around 20 trees and spends around Rs15,000 for transplanting each,” said S Chelliah, director of horticulture, NDMC.

Experts, however, said that the cost would depend primarily on how big the tree is – the canopy, the root system and the girth.

“On an average, the cost for transplanting one tree will be around ₹30,000. But it would all depend on the size of the tree. The larger the tree, the higher would be the cost,” said Umesh Jain, managing director of a Noida-based agency. Jain says his agency has transplanted around 3,000 trees in Delhi for various government agencies.

If the tree is old and large with the girth measuring a few metres, then earthmovers will have to be brought in to dig out the roots without damaging them. A root ball will be created, which will increase the weight. Cranes will be required to lift the tree and trucks to transport it.

“But as the machine would be hired for a whole day, at least three to four trees can be transplanted. The cost could come anywhere between ₹8,000 -10,000 to transplant one tree, if you are transplanting at least three to four such large trees in one day with heavy machines,” said Anchal Sondhi, trustee of Dehradun-based NGO Titli trust, that has transplanted at least 50 trees in Dehradun and Pune.

A senior forest official said once the policy is finalised, tenders would be floated to empanel agencies. It would be made mandatory for agencies to ensure 80% of the transplanted trees survive.

Experts also raised questions on the availability of land .

“One needs to check if land is available for transplanting such mature trees,” said Padmavati Dwivedi, an activist who conducted Delhi’s first tree census in a south Delhi neighbourhood.

A senior forest department official said they would first try to transplant the trees along roads maintained by the Public Works Department. Plans are there to create a land pool or bank.

Data provided by the state forest department shows that between 2005 and February 2018, at least 1.12 lakh trees were cut in the national capital — an average of 24 trees per day.