ICLEI South Asia organised consultation workshops for the Municipal Corporations of Delhi and Meerut on the 28th June and 29th of June respectively, to help them enhance green cover to reduce air pollution and to support the two cities breathe clean air.

Organised under the Building City Leadership on Clean Air Action project, supported by the Clean Air Fund, the workshops were attended by the Additional Municipal Commissioners, Executive Engineers, Municipal Corporation staff, and various NGOs from the two cities, along with the ICLEI South Asia project team. In the Delhi event, the Director and section officers of the horticulture department in all city zones also participated.

The workshops highlighted the need to reduce air pollution through green cover enhancement actions, including site selection, species selection, air quality tolerance index maintenance, and carbon sequestration. At the Meerut event, officials discussed the benefits of growing trees, significance of GIS mapping, tree census, preparation of the soil for plantation, types of plants that could be grown on central verges or on the roadside, keeping in mind factors such as the air pollution tolerance index, water requirements, maintenance and protection from stray animals. They also requested assistance on developing a plantation plan for a site within the city.

In Delhi, the participating officials enquired about species selection criteria, software adaptation to ease the process, and capacity-building training on the plantation process, ways to enhance carbon sequestration, and utilising GIS-based mapping. The director of the horticulture department requested ICLEI South Asia for assistance in species selection based on factors such as air quality tolerance index, biodiversity conservation through plantation, corporate social responsibility, and capacity-building training for his department.

The project team plans to conduct similar training sessions in Gurugram. Additional training sessions will be organised in all project cities, involving subject experts on issues such as solid waste management and road dust control.