Around 1.70 cr saplings planted in 7 years of Kejriwal govt: Gopal Rai

Around 1.70 crore saplings have been planted in the seven years of the Arvind Kejriwal government so far, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday.

He said the city government had targeted to plant 33 lakh saplings this year. Of this, 22 lakh have already been planted.

Between 2015 and 2019, the green cover in Delhi increased by around 2,500 hectares, Rai told reporters at a press conference.

At present, Delhi's green cover, comprising forest and tree cover, is 324 sq km or 21.9 per cent of the total area, according to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) released in 2019.

It was 305.4 sq km or 20.6 per cent in 2017.