New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) Civic authorities in Delhi have started a 'tree census' under which a counting exercise will be undertaken in municipal wards, and in its second phase, location and tagging of trees will be done through artificial intelligence-based technology, officials said on Wednesday.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi said this is the first time a 'tree census' is being conducted in the civic wards here.

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There are 250 wards under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

On the lines of an initiative taken by the Delhi government, the AAP-led government in the MCD is promoting greenery, Oberoi was quoted as saying in an official statement.

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"For this, the process of a 'tree census' has been started in the wards for the first time. The process of counting trees will be done in all wards of the corporation, and it will be completed within 15 days," she said.

Tree census will also help in controlling illegal tree cutting and ensuring greenery of the city, Oberoi said.

"The horticulture department will mark each tree with its serial number. In the first phase of this process, the census of trees will be done manually, and in the second phase, the location and tagging of trees will be done through AI-based technology. This will be the first time that tagging of trees will be done using AI-based technology," the statement said.

The green cover in Delhi was around 20 per cent in 2013, and this has increased to more than 23 per cent, the MCD said.

Oberoi said the corporation is starting the work of counting trees to promote greenery and to know the actual number of trees.

"This initiative will enable easy identification of trees and will also help in their pruning. Apart from this, the exact data of trees in all the wards will be known. On the basis of this information, plantations will be promoted in less green areas. Based on the data, the department will make a plan for plantation and their maintenance," she added.

Oberoi said that the AAP-led MCD is making every possible effort to increase the green cover in Delhi.

Under the Green Delhi Action Plan 2023-24, about 84,143 trees and 2,36,092 bushy plants have been planted by the horticulture department till November, it said.

Last year, eight mini-forests were created using Miyanwaki technology, and a plan is proposed to "develop five forests" based on this technology. The MCD and the Delhi government are running large-scale tree plantation campaigns to make the city greener. Through these campaigns, an effort is to provide pollution-free and clean air to the people of Delhi, she said.

Lakhs of saplings are planted every year by the Delhi government. The Kejriwal-led government has set a target of increasing the green cover in the city from 23 per cent to 27 per cent in the next few years. And, the MCD will also have a big role in this, it said.

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