The Times of India 07.09.2009
Trees with vultures' nests hacked under AMC nose
AHMEDABAD: Even as tress are indiscriminately hacked in the city, parks and gardens department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) does little to save them, except paying lip service to eco conservation.
It is a brazen example of inefficiency of the department that more than 40-year-old cork trees were chopped overnight on September 2 at an open plot near ATIRA. These trees were abode to many endangered vultures.
Interestingly, AMC had served notice to the developers in March after local residents and environmentalists protested against the hacking of tree. However, it was of no use as AMC authorities failed to save the trees.
Director of parks and garden department of AMC Jignesh Patel admitted that the real estate developers were at fault in cutting down the trees.
Patel said, "According to Saurashtra Tree-Cutting Act, 1951, the developers responsible for it will be penalized with a monetary fine and will also be asked to carry out a tree plantation drive. We have also submitted a report to higher officials on the entire matter."
Worried over the plight of vultures, Aditya Roy, 21, a local resident and environmentalist, said, "The rare trees were more than 40-feet-high. Moreover, it had vultures' nests, which also used to serve as their roosting place. Vultures are already getting extinct and uprooting their habitats will only add to their extinction."
"The trees were home to almost 12 vultures and I have documented their behaviour on the tree. These poor creatures should not be sacrificed in the name of development. There were two nests on the trees when it was chopped down," Roy added.
It is a brazen example of inefficiency of the department that more than 40-year-old cork trees were chopped overnight on September 2 at an open plot near ATIRA. These trees were abode to many endangered vultures.
Interestingly, AMC had served notice to the developers in March after local residents and environmentalists protested against the hacking of tree. However, it was of no use as AMC authorities failed to save the trees.
Director of parks and garden department of AMC Jignesh Patel admitted that the real estate developers were at fault in cutting down the trees.
Patel said, "According to Saurashtra Tree-Cutting Act, 1951, the developers responsible for it will be penalized with a monetary fine and will also be asked to carry out a tree plantation drive. We have also submitted a report to higher officials on the entire matter."
Worried over the plight of vultures, Aditya Roy, 21, a local resident and environmentalist, said, "The rare trees were more than 40-feet-high. Moreover, it had vultures' nests, which also used to serve as their roosting place. Vultures are already getting extinct and uprooting their habitats will only add to their extinction."
"The trees were home to almost 12 vultures and I have documented their behaviour on the tree. These poor creatures should not be sacrificed in the name of development. There were two nests on the trees when it was chopped down," Roy added.
