New Delhi, Jul 2 (IANS): In a bid to control air pollution in the national capital, an ‘urban forest has been set up in the park of the Comptroller and Auditor Generals (CAG) office.

On World Environment Day on June 5, the government had announced the implementation of the ‘Nagar Van' scheme to develop 200 urban forests across the country in the next five years.

Calling them lungs of the cities and oxygen banks, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that it would be a dense urban forest with multiple tree layers, including 12,000 saplings of 59 indigenous species in another year.

The Environment Minister appreciated that the 'Miyawaki method' of forest creation is employed which could help reducing the temperature by as much as 14-degree and increase the moisture by more than 40 per cent.

A dense forest ecosystem has been created in the CAG office in an area that is little over 1 acre in size. The multi-layered forest has shrubs, small to medium-size trees and tall trees carefully arranged as peripheral and core plant communities.

The forest is made up of trees which are native to the area and are three dimensional, multi-layered communities having 30 times the surface area of the greenery of single-layered lawns, and have more than 30 times the ability to protect against natural disasters and conserve the environment.

With minimal maintenance, including watering and de-weeding, the urban forest will be self-sustainable by October 2021.

The urban forest has an ecosystem which has the capacity to restore habitats for birds, bees, butterflies and microfauna. These are essential for pollination of crops and fruits and to help maintain a balanced ecosystem.

The office of the CAG of India believes that initiatives like these will help the country move towards a state of better ecological balance, especially in the cities. It is a small yet significant contribution to Delhi's ecosystem, one that could inspire people to reclaim and restore their natural surroundings.