The civic body has sanctioned cutting of 400 trees in a month even as environmentalists protest the depleting green cover in the city.
The unbridled urbanisation is fast consuming the green cover of the city. The plunging number of trees is set to decline further due to rapid construction work.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sanctioned cutting of 400 trees across the city in a span of one month. These mowed down trees will pave way for SRA buildings and carve out roads for new constructions. As many as 180 trees will be felled in Goregaon and over 80 will be cut down in Lower Parel. And at least 50 trees will disappear from the streets of Andheri.
However, for civic officials, this is a routine affair. “The trees have to be chopped off at the time of construction. Often, green cover comes in the way of development, but efforts are made to strike a balance between the two,” said Chandrasekhar Rokade, deputy municipal commissioner (Garden).
Citizens of Bandra, Tardeo, Matunga and Borivli will also see trees disappearing from their areas. In the past five months, the city has lost more than 850 trees. A large chunk of it was lost during relentless redevelopment of buildings and 20% got uprooted during the monsoon. This stark figure has triggered panic among members of the tree authority and environmental activists.
Dr Nilesh Baxi, member of the tree authority, said: “The increasing number of trees being cut will steadily reduce the city’s oxygen-generating capacity. In place of the chopped trees, the BMC plants saplings, but these in the immediate run contribute negligibly to oxygen demand of the city.”
Baxi demanded that two trees should be planted to replace every chopped one. Plans to plant twice the number of trees which are lost should be introduced, he added. Although the civic body has a tree transplantation policy, there is no action report for the accountability.
The environment lobby has also expressed their concern over the plunging number of trees. “The merciless cutting down of trees has been persistent. Construction at the cost of green cover will slowly deplete our ecology. Moreover, the transplanted trees have been of no use. The trees transplanted are indigenous and they ultimately wither away,” said environmentalist Stalin D of Conservation Action Trust (CAT).
Trees have been great assets of the city. Its streets, gardens and even residential areas boast of several species, common and rare. Trees like the Mast and Padouk are a common sight by the side of the roads. The city is home to various kinds of palms too.
Many say, Mumbai is a botanist’s delight. However, with the present state of affairs, they soon may have to desperately search for their research subjects.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}