Capital’s ‘heritage trees’ missing from Forest Dept records
Decades-old plan to identify, label such trees gathers dust
Delhi prides itself on being a city of monuments, history and culture, home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar and the Red Fort. While the city’s heritage is preserved and promoted, its living heritage – centuries-old trees - has been left invisible, unrecorded and officially ignored.
A Tribune investigation has found that the Delhi Government has no consolidated data on “heritage trees” in the Capital. Though an official plan to identify and label them was drawn up nearly a decade ago, it has since gathered dust.
Despite repeated attempts over a week, officials from the Delhi Forest Department failed to provide any information on old or heritage trees in the city. Calls went unanswered, and visits to the department resulted in The Tribune correspondent being sent from one officer to another, each disclaiming responsibility.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), when approached, flatly said it does not maintain any record of heritage trees and directed queries to the Forest Department.
At the Forest Department, from Deputy Conservator of Forest Amit Gemawat to biodiversity official Gaurav Singhal to a planning cell official named Sanjeev, everyone pointed elsewhere. The refrain remained the same: “We don’t have any data on old or heritage trees.”
This bureaucratic buck-passing stands in stark contrast to a decision taken in 2016 by the then Delhi Government to formally recognise the city’s “natural heritage.” A list of about 16 heritage trees, mostly in South and New Delhi, where green cover is richer, was prepared. These trees were meant to be marked with signboards explaining their age, ecological value and historical significance, along with warnings against damage.
The trees include peepal at Burma Mission, Mehrauli; neem at Dadabari Jain Mandir; khirni at Chirag Dilli Dargah; semal near Teen Murti Bhavan; Amaltas in JNU; mango in Lodhi Gardens; banyan at India Gate; ashoka at Raj Ghat; arjuna at Gandhi Memorial; and ailanthus in Nehru Park.
Today, not a single official heritage board exists at these sites. No plaques, no protection notices, no recognition, just silence.
Perhaps the most poignant symbol of this neglect is the ancient khirni tree at Chirag Dilli Dargah of Sufi saint Hazrat Naseeruddin Mahmud Roshanchirag. Believed to date back to 1356, when the shrine was built, the tree continues to shade devotees, yet remains unacknowledged by the state as a heritage asset.
