This story is from September 22, 2020

Japanese method to give a green makeover to Delhi's mountain of shame

To create a dense mini forest near the Ghazipur landfill, East Delhi Municipal Corporation has employed the Japanese method of Miyawaki urban forestry. The man-made patch is not only expected to improve the ambient air quality in the area, but also serve as a test for using the same approach to turn the infamous garbage mountain into a biodiversity park.
Japanese method to give a green makeover to Delhi's mountain of shame
Ghazipur landfill
NEW DELHI: To create a dense mini forest near the Ghazipur landfill, East Delhi Municipal Corporation has employed the Japanese method of Miyawaki urban forestry. The man-made patch is not only expected to improve the ambient air quality in the area, but also serve as a test for using the same approach to turn the infamous garbage mountain into a biodiversity park.
A municipal official said that more than 1,000 saplings of 40 native Indian species have been planted using the Miyawaki method over a 450 square metres.
“The system developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki ensures that the growth of a forests ten times faster and 30 times denser than through traditional plantation methods,” the official said.
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The Miyawaki method, also called the potted seedling method, may show the way forward for setting up a biodiversity park at the landfill, as suggested by National Green Tribunal. It is an afforestation technique that uses native plant species along with components such as perforators, water retainer, organic manure and mulch. The method guarantees high survival and the growth. The same methodology was used earlier near Barapulla drain at Sarai Kale Khan by Delhi Development Authority and the Union government’s department of biotechnology to reclaim a swampy sewage area and turn it into a carbon sink.
EDMC expects the pilot to help determine which native species are suitable for the proposed green belts around the landfill, both in controlling odour control and improving ambient air quality. The landfill is currently being freed of legacy waste through bio-mining and trommeling. EDMC is removing more than 3,600 tonnes of waste every day from thesite.
Taking suo motu cognisance of TOI’s May 27, 2019, report “Below Mountains of Trash Lie Poison Lakes”, NGT directed the biomining of the landfill instead of its capping and turning of the garbage dumps into biodiversity parks. TOI had reported how the city’s landfills were polluting underground aquifers, forcing people in the vicinity to consume water contaminated by leachate. If successfully reclaimed through bio-mining and trommeling, there will be 70 acres of land at Ghazipur to be forested.

Nirmal Jain, EDMC mayor, disclosed that a section of the stabilised Ghazipur landfill had already been covered with grass and plants. “This new technique will be used to green the patches of land around the landfill in order to turn the entire area into a green lung for the region,” Jain said.
In Akira Miyawaki’s system, native species are chosen in the right mix to create a four-layered system of shrubs, sub-tree level, tree layer and canopy layer. After the treatment of soil, the plants are packed closely so that vertical growth takes place rather than horizontal growth, eventually creating a mini self-sustaining ecosystem. An EDMC official said that the plants used in Ghazipur included timber, medicinal, flowering, fruit and shrub species.
In addition to Ghazipur and Barapullah, the same method has been adopted in neighboring Gautam Buddh Nagar, where India’s largest Miyawaki forest is being created in Greater Noida. In September 2019, two lakh plants were planted over 71,000 sq m. However, several environmentalists have noted that these man-made woods cannot replace natural forests.
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