While Mumbai’s municipality has failed in increasing the city’s green cover, a citizens’ group in Bandra could teach the civic body a thing or two on how to make the city greener.
The Perry Road Residents’ Association said it has managed to ensure 100 per cent survival rate of 72 trees that residents of the area had planted along the road with civic staff over the last five years.
This, at a time when survival of trees planted on footpaths is considered less likely.
Anil Joseph, chief of the association, which represents nearly 50 buildings in the vicinity, said this had happened after the association imbibed a sense of “ownership” of trees planted outside residents’ buildings.
Five years ago, the municipality completed storm water drain work beneath footpaths for which it had cut 10 trees. “So, we had the onus of planting more trees... We asked our members to take care of trees outside their buildings by asking their gardeners to water them,” said Joseph.
He said that in order to ensure that a sapling grows into a tree, it has to be planted at a place where its roots can spread comfortably. “More importantly, residents of the area need to have the right approach. There are societies which oppose plantation of trees on footpaths outside their buildings. This is wrong,” said Joseph. “Planting trees not only helps increase green cover but also stops encroachment on public property.”
Besides, to tackle incidents of tree fall, which have claimed lives in the past and injured many, Joseph said that the association sees to it that they get trimming permission ahead of monsoon. “So, when you trim an old tree and balance it, people don’t consider it a burden, but a beauty,” he said.
