The Indian Express              20.06.2013

BMC agrees to trim trees on private property for nominal fee

After years of requests, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has
agreed to trim trees on private properties for a nominal fee.
Currently, the civic body only trims trees on public properties and
roads while owners of private residential and commercial properties are
expected to do this themselves.

Tree-trimming is a crucial pre-monsoon safety measure to avoid
fatal accidents during rains. According to BMC data, in the last five
years, six persons have been killed and 94 injured in incidents of trees
falling. Civic officials say untrimmed trees on private properties are
largely (if not equally) responsible for this problem.

“Citizens are charged a tree cess of 0.05 per cent on their
property tax whether or not there are trees on the property. This can
now be availed as a subsidised service in return for the tax paid,” said
Niranjan Shetty, nominated member of the tree authority.

“Acquiring permission for trimming and appointing a private
agency for the task are tedious and costly for citizens. It roughly
costs them Rs 5,000 per branch. This way, BMC will not only help
residents but will also be more accountable for tree-falling incidents
during monsoon,” he added.

“Over the past couple of years, we have repeatedly asked
municipal commissioners to also trim trees on private property. However,
BMC declined to do so as it believed this would increase its
expenditure. We have now proposed to provide this service at a fee,”
said Shetty.

“We are presently closing a contract worth roughly Rs 25 crore
for trimming trees on public land in every ward. We will extend the
facility to a private property if an application has been filed and
payment made at the local ward office. We will even assure
transportation of the pruned branches outside the city limits,” joint
municipal commissioner S S Shinde, in-charge of the civic gardens
department.