Urban News

^{Indian Express 16.12.2009}

To save green cover, civic body hikes security deposit for trees

With builders and authorities recklessly hacking trees and failing to transplant the uprooted ones, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has increased the security deposit to Rs 10,000 per tree.

The money would be forfeited if the person or organisation fails to transplant the tree, resulting in its death. At present, the deposit money is Rs 6,000.

The BMC has also increased the cost of the application form from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,000, security deposit for cutting tree from Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 for private organisations and from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 for government and semi government offices. The proposal to increase the amount was approved in November.

Officials said most of the times builders cut even those trees which were to be transplanted. “The deposit amount was too small. By increasing the amount, we hope they will transplant the trees,” said deputy municipal commissioner (gardens and zoo) Chandrashekhar Rokde.

Tree authority member Dr Nilesh Baxi said while the amount will swell the BMC’s kitty there was a chance that authorities may pay attention to transplantation. “Many times the builders or authorities would not come to take back the security amount after getting the permission to cut the tree. The high amount will at least act as a deterrent for small and medium scale developers,” he said.

Recently, the civic body at Dadar Swimming Pool transplanted 30 trees of which seven died due to improper care.

According to the Tree Act, for every one tree that is cut, two new trees should be planted and there should be two trees in 100 sq meter area and five trees in 100 sq meter area.

The BMC will also appoint agencies with experts on horticulture and trained labourers having knowledge about tree transplantation. Officials said if the trees are transplanted scientifically they do survive, however, the trees are hacked and transplanted by labourers who have no knowledge about it. “The builders and authorities will have to carry the tree transplantation through these agencies and will be responsible for them for two years,” he said.

A monitoring committee at ward level will also keep a tab on the growth and progress of these trees, Dr Baxi said.

Meanwhile, the BMC has decided to get trees from Andhra Pradesh. Jackfruit, bakul, breadfruit, neem, bamboos and four varieties of palms are among the 7,000-odd trees the city will soon acquire from Rajahmundry city in Andhra Pradesh, the BMC said.

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.”