Almost 500 mature trees of 51 species: Survey documents green wealth of Gymkhana Club

The survey of the Gymkhana flora was led by naturalist Vijay Dhasmana and environmentalist Dr Roli Shukul Thapar, who documented the mature trees on the premises, with a girth exceeding 100 cm.

Putranjiva was the most abundant species, with 84 mature trees, followed by Neem (63), Royal Palm (44), Mango (35). (Express Photo)

The team, also comprising citizen volunteers, carried out field visits to identify species, and used GPS-based mapping to create a digital inventory of every mature tree on the premises.

Almost 100 younger trees, estimated by the survey team to be between 25 and 40 years old, as well as shrubs and other vegetation, were not included in the survey. This means the total vegetation cover on the premises would be more than the documented count in the survey.

The survey report notes that older, mature trees store substantially more carbon, provide extensive canopy cover that cools surrounding areas, support birds, bats and insects, and intercept rainwater. These ecosystem services, it says, cannot be recreated for decades if mature trees are lost.

Putranjiva, a species that is believed to have ayurvedic properties, was found to be the most abundant on the Gymkhana premises with 84 mature trees, followed by Neem (63), Royal Palm (44), Mango (35), Karanj (28), Mulberry or Toot (23), and Peepal (22). The survey documented 15 Jamun trees on the premises, 13 Vilayati Keekar, 12 Foxtail Palms, and 10 Fishtail Palms.

While the fate of these trees is uncertain in the event the government takes back the Gymkhana land, the Delhi High Court had observed orally last month that the capital would “suffocate” if the green spaces in Lutyens’s Delhi were replaced by concrete structures.

Hearing a petition filed by the Indian Polo Association seeking protection from coercive action following an eviction order passed by the central government on May 20, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna asked counsel for the Centre on June 8 why the government wanted the land.

“For (constructing) 20-storey buildings? What are you going to do with all those heritage structures?… Even in Gymkhana they are there…,” Justice Bansal said.

The team documented only mature trees with a girth exceeding 50 cm — many of them decades old and individually geotagged for the first time. (Express Photo)

While counsel said that “requisite permissions would be taken”, the judge continued: “Delhi will suffocate… The little breather we have in the NDMC area, that is also going to go. All of us will suffocate and die. For all the years these have existed, the government never felt the need for the land? Did they feel the need in 200 years?”

The High Court will hear the Indian Polo Association’s plea against a sessions court’s refusal to stay the Centre’s order evicting it from the 15.2-acre Jaipur Polo Ground on August 12. The next hearing in the High Court in the Gymkhana Club matter is on July 28. A separate hearing in the Gymkhana matter before the Estate Officer is scheduled for July 30.

The tree survey has identified exceptionally large specimens of Baheda, Semal and Holoptelea integrifolia, described as heritage trees in ecological terms because of their age, size and ecological value.

The inventory also has recorded several ecologically significant native species that support birds, bats, and insects, including Banyan, Peepal, Pilkhan, Goolar, Baheda, Arjun, Bel, Semal, Kachnar, Dhak, and Imli.

Mature individuals of exotic tree species such as the African Sausage Tree, Silky Oak, Chinese Fan Palm, Jacaranda, Tabebuia, Plumeria, Moulmein Rosewood and Chir Pine have also been recorded.

The surveyors noted that bird species like Black Drongo, Rose-ringed parakeet, Coppersmith barbet, Red-vented bulbul, and Common myna were found nesting and feeding in the trees, and helping in seed dispersal.

Delhi-based environmentalist Bhavreen Khandari described heritage trees as “natural cooling towers, biodiversity hubs, carbon stores, rainwater managers, and silent protectors of public health”.

Dr Thapar, one of the leaders of the survey, said only the 500-odd “big trees” were geotagged. “Had we counted all the trees, shrubs, and plants, the number would be more than ten-fold. This greenery must be preserved,” Thapar said.