‘Tree care is not a luxury, but an urgent Necessity’

Last Week, Yet Another Heartbreaking and Entrely Preventable Tragedy Struck delhi when a man and his Daughter was crushed by a Falling Tree in Kalkaji, an increase Protect Both Urban Trees and the people who live among them. This wasn’t a tragic accident caused by nature; It was the outcome of a system that has turned its back on both people and the environment. Trees don’t fall overnight. They Fall because we choke them, ignore their distress, and refuse to treat their health as a Civic Responsibility.

Over a decade ago, in 2013, The National Green Tribunal, In an Order Issued A Clear Directive: No Concrete Construction be Permited With With One Meetre of a Tree’s TRINK, And that EXISTISATIN AREDITISATION ARANCITISATION ARANCITISATION ARANCITIN ARED Removed Forthwith. This Order has been Violated Across Delhi with impunity.

A walk through any delhi neighbourhood – Vasant Vihar, Defense Colony, CR Park, Janakpuri, or NCR CITES – Exhibits the Same Pattern. Tree roots are encased in concrete, choking under tiles, and with our Singh without moisture or air. An Audit by Citizens in Vasant Vihar Reveled that over 80% of street trees are still concrete. The Forest Department Recorded 31 Violations Affecting over 600 trees in just that area over the past three years. Yet, Despite Citizen Complaints, Court Orders, and even contempt notices, enforcement is practically non-expected. Why is it that when a Tree collapses – KILLING CITIZENS DUE to Official Negligence, Violating Court Orders, Choking Roots With Concrete, Or Unscientific Pruning – No FIR IS FIR IS FILED, NO FIR Held Liable, and no one is made to answer for the loss of life?

What makes this WorsE is the fact that Delhi was Ordered by the Hon’ble High Court in 2022 to Deploy Tree Ambulances and set up a Tree disease Surgery Unit to Address the very expensive Little is knowledge about their utilization. Pruning is carried out by untrained works who hack off branches without understanding the biology or stability of the tree. In Fact, Mindless Pruning or LOPPING OPTEN SHIFTS A Tree’s Weight Off-Balance, Making it far more vulnerable to collapse during stars and heavy rains. Concrete tiles are laid around trunks for aesthetic convenience, suffocating the roots. When these trees collapse, the blame is shifted to heavy rains or the age of the tree, never to the years of abuse it endured silntly. This is not just a delhi problem. Across India’s cities, we Continue to Treat Trees as Obstacles to Development Rather Than Integral Parts of Urban Infrastructure. The result is the same: weakened, unstable trees that cannot withstand winds or storms, Increasingly Common in Our Changing Climate. This monsoon alone, over 350 trees have fallen in Delhi. And every one of them was a warning sign.

We are in the middle of a climate emergency. Trees Cool Our Cities, Absorb Carbon, Reduce Flood Risk, and Sustain Biodiversity. A recent study showed that shaded parks in delhi are up to 20 degrees cooler than surrounding concrete areas. Yet, we are actively reduced the resilience of our cities by neglecting trees. We Pour Crores Into Plantation Drives, YET Spend Nothing on MainTaining The Trees We Alredy Have. Our citizens desperately needed Arborists, Routine Tree Health Audits, Mobile Tree Care Units, and Story Enforcement of De-Concretisation Norms. These are not luxuries; They are Urgent Necessories.

Citizens have done their part. From filing pils to mapping trees and documenting violations, the public has raised the alarm for years. But unless authorities face legal and financial consortequences for their failure, Nothing will change. Accountability must go beyond lip service. Officers who Ignore NGT Orders and Allow Illegal Concretization must be prosecuted for contempt and negligence. Every tree that falls due to such a violation is not just an environmental loss; It is a Civic Crime. So is it fair to call it a “Tragedy”? Not really, More Like “Violation” that must be brushed aside as just another unfortunate incident. It should be the last straw. We cannot allow this cycle of neglect, Silence, and death to continue. Trees are living beings. They are part of our Community, Our Climate, and Our College Future. The question is no longer with we care about trees. The question is wheether we care enough to hold that in power accountable for failing to protect them, and us.

(Bhavreen kandhari is an advocate for environmental rights. The Views Expressed Are Personal)