The Times of India     26.07.2012

IMC plans to develop 30-acre forest in city

  INDORE: Indore has lost the tag of Shab-e-Malwa mainly due to felling of a huge number of trees for construction work in the past few years. Now, the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) is coming up with a city forest project on over 30 acre of land to compensate for the loss of the green cover.

Mayor Krishnamurari Moghe said that civic body was developing 30 acre of land as city forest wherein different species of saplings would be planted. Work for leveling the ground and constructing small ponds will be started soon. Besides this, the entire track of the land will be surrounded by trench line and herbs will be planted on it.

City has lost around more than 40,000 trees in the past few years and attempts to plant saplings on the road dividers and road side failed to give desired results. Even the idea of green belt along the side of roads also failed to produce any result.

On the other hand, a survey on 'City Resilience Strategy for Changing Climate Scenarios' conducted by an NGO, TARU, on behalf of the IMC has observed that the temperature during summer in the city will cross 50 degree Celsius in the next five decades. Right now, the maximum temperature in the city goes up to 42 degree Celsius during summer.

Civic officials said that development of city forest offset the impact of increasing temperature and it will also help check the rising pollution in the city. A project cannot be successful without the involvement of people and keeping this in view, the civic body is planning to involve school children and the residents of the city in the project.

"Plantation will be done with the help of school children, so that they will have attachment with the trees and they will learn the importance of preserving the environment," the mayor said.