Delhi's Supreme Court: Afforestation Only Solution for Air Quality

- The Supreme Court's statement was made while reconstituting an expert committee to supervise afforestation efforts in the Delhi Ridge, a protected forest area. - Delhi's air quality index (AQI) regularly deteriorates to "Poor," "Very Poor," or "Severe" categories between October and February. Major contributing factors include vehicular and industrial emissions, construction dust, and smoke from seasonal crop burning in neighboring states. - According to the India State of Forest Report 2023, Delhi has a forest and tree cover of about 25% of its total area. A plan submitted to the Supreme Court aims to increase this green cover to 33%. - The Delhi Forest Department's Green Action Plan for 2026-27 intends to plant more than 719,000 saplings across South and West Delhi, with a budget exceeding ₹56.46 crore. - A significant hurdle for afforestation in the city is the scarcity of land. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has previously highlighted a "crisis" in finding land for legally mandated compensatory afforestation for development projects. - The utilization of funds for greening projects has been a concern. A Supreme Court-appointed committee report revealed that between 2019 and 2024, Delhi utilized only 26.9% of the funds released for compensatory afforestation, the lowest among all states and union territories. - In addition to government efforts, citizen-led groups are also actively involved in increasing the city's green cover. For instance, the Rise Foundation is using the Japanese Miyawaki technique to plant dense, fast-growing native forests in urban areas. - A 2016 study identified road dust as the largest contributor to PM2.5 pollution in Delhi (38%), followed by vehicles (20%), domestic fuel burning (12%), and industrial sources (11%).