00:11I have never seen so much lush green, especially in Delhi.
00:25Constructing new buildings for a city that's still growing.
00:28The working conditions are almost inhuman.
00:32It is seriously hot.
00:34Far too hot for physical labour, says Nivedita Saha of the environmental organisation Greenpeace.
00:40This thermal camera is also telling us the actual field-like temperature right now in
00:45this environment what they are facing, which is above 51 almost.
00:52We are in Dwarka, in Western Delhi.
00:55Dwarka is one of the most densely built up areas in the city.
01:00Right next to the airport, a railway junction and the busy Dwarka expressway.
01:07The urban village of Shahbad, Mohamadpur is located near Dwarka.
01:12It's one of the city's oldest villages.
01:16There used to be fields here, now it's all completely built up.
01:21The residents tell us that on hot summer days, it's almost unbearable.
01:45The Dwarka forest covers a hundred and twenty hectares.
01:49It has grown up almost by itself over the past 30 years on government land that was once barren.
01:56Today, more than 60 species of birds and wild animals like the Nilgai antelope inhabit the area.
02:04Many local residents walk through the forest every day on their way to work.
02:08It provides shade and relief from the heat.
02:11Right now it is 35-36 that I'm standing here, where it's not even that dense.
02:17It actually gives me a lot of relief and it makes my body feel a little cooler.
02:25But part of the forest is set to be cleared.
02:28The Rail Land Development Authority is planning a railway terminal right through the middle of it.
02:36Since 2022, trees have been felled and debris from the building work has piled up in some places.
02:43The problem is that when the terminal was planned, this forest didn't yet exist.
02:50Naveen Solanki wants to save Dwarka forest.
02:54The 25-year-old lives nearby and is heading the Save Dwarka forest campaign.
03:01He's out here every day to check for any new damage.
03:06This is, as you can see, how they bring mud from the other side, they dump it in the forest
03:12using trucks.
03:14They slowly cover the trees till their canopy line.
03:17And then that's how you call burying a forest alive, burying trees alive.
03:24There are about 5000 trees that have died in this similar manner.
03:302024 marked a partial victory for Naveen.
03:34He was able to save 30 hectares.
03:37The Supreme Court declared the area a deemed forest.
03:40The railway authorities suspended their tree felling, but the fight continues for Naveen.
03:48The authorities say that invasive, non-native vilayeti kikar trees are now dominating the other species in the Dwarka forest.
03:58As the government and railways are saying that it's only kikar trees that nested the trees.
04:07There are no trees.
04:10There are many other species of trees.
04:14There are many trees.
04:16Kipal, babool, neem and other species.
04:30Meanwhile, 20 kilometres away, in the central ridge reserve forest that is legally protected,
04:36so-called restoration activities are underway.
04:40The prosopis juliflora trees are being removed.
04:44The species was brought to Delhi around 100 years ago.
04:47Now it is spreading more and more, displacing native species.
04:53But ecologist Pradeep Krishan says the forestry authorities are going about it in the wrong way.
05:00It is absolutely essential to remove invasive species.
05:04The question is, how do you do it?
05:07If you remove it by using bulldozers that actually churn up the soil and remove topsoil,
05:14you are destroying the greatest asset that the central ridge has today.
05:19In the form of biocrust, in the form of fungi, in the form of termites, in the form of all
05:24the creatures that live in the soil at a fairly shallow level.
05:28The way to remove the precipice is to do it by hand.
05:33Then there are the forestry authorities' plans to create new urban forests.
05:40Pradeep Krishan says the plans involve planting trees that require extensive care and watering.
05:46They are calling it a Panchavati 1.
05:48The only way to actually do this well is to plant native, to plant trees that are already
05:53adapted to growing in this particular set of minerals, soil, climate, rainfall regime.
05:59You need to really work with species that are perfectly adapted to growing here.
06:05We tried to speak to the forestry department to get their response, but no one was available
06:10for comment.
06:12Meanwhile, more and more people in Delhi are starting to enjoy the city's forests.
06:17This group is on a guided walk through part of Delhi's central ridge.
06:22Here, they can breathe easy, enjoy being together, out in nature and unwind.
06:28It was stunning for me because I have never seen so much lush green, you know, forest.
06:35Especially in Delhi.
06:36I never knew it existed.
06:39Between 2008 and 2018 alone, Delhi lost 77,000 trees.
06:45Preserving forests wherever possible and reforesting with native species to promote sustainable growth
06:51is now the goal.
06:53For these dedicated activists in Delhi, every single tree is worth fighting for.
07:01No other vindictworthy, they are native, as many others, can see you, may be distintos for thousands of people.
07:02But for example, they can have questions that have to play in the water.
Comments