Delhi expands metro corridor as DDA launches massive sapling drive

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has received approval for the 26.46‑km Rithala‑Kundli Phase IV corridor, costing roughly Rs 6,230 crore. Implementation will affect 3,493 trees: 2,966 are slated for transplantation and 527 will be felled. Specific sections cite 1,424 trees to be moved and 35 cut between Rohini Sector‑34 and Bawana Industrial Area, 946 transplanted and 182 cut between Rithala dead‑end and Rohini Sector‑34, and 596 transplanted with 310 cut between Bawana Industrial Area and the Delhi‑Haryana border. Transplanted trees will be relocated to a designated site at Dera Mandi under the city's tree‑transplantation policy.

Separately, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) announced a city‑wide plantation programme that will sow nearly 2.3 million native saplings—including trees, shrubs and bushes—on about 1,000 acres. The drive will cover 675 DDA parks, four ridge zones, six biodiversity parks and various green corridors, beginning in early July and continuing to mid‑September. The initiative aims to increase Delhi’s green cover, improve biodiversity, enhance carbon sequestration, and strengthen climate‑resilience across the capital.