New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) Around 1.70 crore saplings have been planted in the seven years of the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi 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.

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

He also said the city government will organise a "Wildlife Conservation Awareness Campaign" at the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary from October 2-8.

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At present, Delhi's green cover, comprising forest and tree cover, is 324 sq km or 21.9 percent 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 percent in 2017.

The National Forest Policy aims at bringing a minimum one-third of India's total geographical area under green cover.

The green cover should be at least 66 percent of the total area in hilly regions and 20 percent in the plains.

The minister said the Delhi government had asked the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, to conduct an audit to ascertain the survival rate of the saplings.

"The FRI has given a primary report. According to it, the survival rate varies from 50 percent to 90 percent. A detailed final report will be sent in one month," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)