Indian Express 11.12.2009
Civic team in Hyderabad to explore options for procuring trees
A six-member committee appointed by the BMC flew to Andhra Pradesh’s Rajahmundry city near Hyderabad on Thursday to explore the options for procuring trees, more than 10 feet, for Mumbai. The committee said it plans to visit 8 to 10 nurseries till Friday to study tree varieties and whether they can be purchased for Mumbai.
Among the committee members are Deputy Municipal Commissioner Chandrakant Rokade, Deputy Superintendent (gardens) KY Rao, Tree Authority nominated member Avinash Kubal, another official from the gardens department and two officials from the BMC’s finance department.
Kubal said, “Rajahmundry is a city with more than 2,000 nurseries and immense expertise in tending trees. We are looking for trees indigenous to Mumbai like Neem, coconut palms, Awla, Peepal etc.” He said that Mumbai has been developing a few tree banks, “but the trees in our banks are just 2 years old and about six-ft high. For trees to survive on Mumbai’s roads, they need to be at least 10 ft high. Since Andhra Pradesh already has 10 ft high trees, and many states have successfully procured them in the past, we considered this proposal too.” Kubal refuted reports that the budget for this proposal ran into crores stating that it was only Rs 10.5 lakh.
Rokade, however, maintained that they have not yet finalized the plan to buy trees and that the visit was just a study trip. “We are studying if it is more economical to buy trees for a lower cost here and then spend more on transport or to buy them in Maharasthra itself where the cost will be higher but transport will be cheaper. Only if the project makes sense, a decision will be taken on Friday,” he said. He also anticipated the survival rate of these 10-ft trees to be 90-95 per cent as opposed to saplings which is only 50 per cent. U N Singh, a nominated member of Tree Authority who manages a nursery in Panvel and had proposed the concept of “tree banking” two years ago, said, “The BMC officials are going ahead with this project with no clear plan on the nature of trees needed or a list of species. A clear-cut agenda is necessary while using public money for such projects.”
