NASHIK: Branches of an ancient banyan and Indian fig trees, located
near an office close to Ekmukhi Datta Mandir, on the banks of the Godavari, were cut without permission from the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), on Sunday.

The environment wing of Nationalist Youth Congress
stopped the trimming and filed a complaint at Sarkarwada police station
against a former corporator who was allegedly responsible for getting
the branches trimmed.

Regional coordinator of the environment
wing of the Nationalist Youth Congress, Rahul Bagmar, stopped the
activity trimming of the branches near Ekmukhi Datta Mandir

upon
learning about it. Bagmar said that he alkong with some of his
volunteers went to the control room and took the police with them to put
an end to the illegal activity.

“By the time we reached the
spot nearly 30% of the branches had already been were already cut. The
branches were very sturdy. The labourers cutting the tree did not have
the permission from the municipal corporation to do so,” said Chaitanya
Kavre, divisional president of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). “I went
there as a citizen to question the illegal trimming of the tree. The
procedure to trim or cut a tree involves submitting an application to
the NCM, that is followed by a notice being published which asks for
objections from citizens within a specific time frame. A hearing is
conducted thereafter and only if the officer feels that the hackning is
merited does he or she grant the permission to cut down the tree. This
procedure is applicable to trees growing within private premises also.
Moreoever in this instance both, banyan and Indian fig, are scheduled
plant species and should be preserved, instead of being trimmed,” Kavre
added.

He said that he had taken the police along with him to
stop the trimming and has submitted an application to the Sarkarwada
police station to register an offence against the president of the
karyalaya. “The police did not agree to file a first information report
(FIR) so we have just given an application to take action and have
submitted copies of the application to the CM, the deputy CM, ministry
of forests, guardian minister (Nashik), the mayor and municipal
commissioner. If no action is taken against those responsible for
trimming the trees without permission, we will file a public interest
litigation,” said Kavre.

Former corporator Vijay Sane, who is
the chairman of Chithpaavan Mangal Karyalaya said that the branches of
the tree located at the Datta Mandir, were leaning on the gallery of the
Karyalaya and would have fallen on anyone passing from there. “It was
dangerous so I got them cut. I was a corporator since the past 15 and
have planted many trees,” he said.

Initially he said that it was
not necessary to seek permission to trim branches of trees but later
said that they had stopped the trimming at present and would resume the
trimming after seeking permission.