Nearly 43 per cent of the 3,609 trees transplanted for the Rs 20,000 crore-worth Central Vista project in the national capital perished recently. The trees were moved for major projects like the new Parliament building and Kartavya Bhawans.The development has prompted criticism regarding the efficacy of transplantation as a mitigation strategy for major infrastructure developments. Why does transplantation of trees often have a low success rate?Landscape planners and horticulturists point fingers at the government’s apathy in uprooting, translocating and transplanting trees.“The government usually gives the contract to someone who hardly cares for the tress. For him, the tree is simply a hindrance to his beautification or construction plan. It is also very heartless the way they uproot and transport the trees without following any protocol or involving any experts,”’Jyotsna Dayal, who runs landscaping company Rocks ‘n’ Roots, told The Tribune.She also rued the way government contractors barricade the entire compound without allowing the press or experts as if “they are hiding something”. She said the exercise usually should take three months but these people rush through the work in a matter of days.Dayal, who has worked with the Bengaluru airport, said, “Unfortunately in India, we are only transplanting trees to further beautify a location’s aesthetic, but not out of concern for the environment, or the life of the tree itself. Delhi is one of the world’s fastest growing metropolitans but also the most polluted, and while the simple answer has always been rooted right in front of us, we have failed to recognise it.”A common issue is that the trees are not part of the planning, and are only noticed just when the bulldozer is ready to take them apart. We take it for granted that no one will notice that they are gone.Proper planning needs to be done for future plantation using only those varieties of trees that do not succumb during shifting and have good cropping vigor, according to experts.Dayal adds that the government should consider maintaining “tree banks” like in Singapore, which maintains a stock of more than 5,500 from 40 different species.“We must also install an agency or tree mission that decides where to plant, what to plant, what to cut and where to shift the trees. Right now, hundreds of agencies are waiting with Corporate Social Responsibility funds to plant trees throughout the country. But with no direction from the planning authorities, such mass plantations, campaigns, and drives will only result in these new plantations being destroyed or forgotten about shortly after,” she says.Neelima Menon, an environmentalist, says the roots and soil of the tree must be studied beforehand. The same type of soil and nutrients should be added where the tree is being transplanted. Later, its growth needs to be observed at regular intervals, she says.“Translocation of trees is an art as well as there is science involved. It is high time the authorities look beyond and look deep,” she adds. Dayal says Delhi will turn into a desert if we lose the already existing tree cover.