Gift a plant this Diwali

The Surat diamond merchant who has decided to distribute two lakh trees to friends and employees this Diwali instead of — or perhaps, in addition to — the usual boxes of sweets, needs to be commended for his interest in multi-faceted gifts. Not only are trees obviously better for health in the long run than sugary confectionery, they will also increase in value as they will be teak, neem, tamarind and anti-oxidant-rich guava saplings.

There are not many gifts that can be bought for less than Rs 50 that have the potential to turn into six-figure behemoths with the investment of just some soil and water, and Mother Nature’s benevolence. Curiously, despite the intrinsic value of fruit and wood — and the intangible and immeasurable but equally important benefit of oxygen generation and shelter from heat — a tree is worth just Rs 28,000, officially.

That is the amount levied as fines or fees in the national capital at least, for trees felled for construction, as was revealed this week as the Delhi Metro’s next phase of expansion earmarked 203 centuryold trees for the chopping block. And increased floor-area norms for residential plots in many cities are also leading to widespread decimation of green cover, as the fines are negligible when compared to property prices.

True, trees cannot stand in the way of progress, but the logic of decimating green cover in one area in lieu of ‘afforestation’ elsewhere is difficult to understand. Even more incomprehensible is the idea of planting ornamental — and, therefore, largely useless — greenery in project areas or plots afterwards, that cannot survive without manual watering and offer neither shade nor fruit as their predecessors did. May more trees be presented as gifts with a divine guarantee of prosperity, to alter attitudes!