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Planting woes: NGO takes tree body to HC ........Shibu Thomas
Mumbai: Over 17,700 trees have been planted in the past one year in the cityand its suburbs, the BMC’s Tree Authority told the Bombay high court on Thursday.
The revelation came during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by NGO Aawaz.
In an affidavit filed by Vijaykumar Dande, tree officer, the authority had given permission to chop 641 “dead’’ trees and 1,178 branches during 2008-’09.
As opposed to this, the BMC claimed to have planted 5,764 number of trees on roads, playgrounds, recreation grounds, open spaces, hospitals, schools and cemeteries.
In addition to this, in lieu of the trees cut down for various development projects, the MMRDA planted 11,994 trees in the past one year.
The NGO had, however, questioned these claims in an affidavit filed earlier. Awaz had alleged that there was no information provided about the areas where these trees were planted or the type of trees that were planted.
It’s been the grouse of activists that, while the trees that are ordered to be hacked down are old trees that are indigenous to the city, there was no word on the kind of new trees being planted.
Authority admitted that while Rs 25 crore was provided to it in the budget to be spent on the conservation of trees, only Rs 6 crore was actually spent in the past financial year.
A division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice S C Dharmadhikari on Thursday allowed Awaz to put written questions to the BMC and the Tree
Authority, which the latter have been asked to respond to in two weeks.
FACTS AND FIGURES * Number of trees cut 641 * No of trees planted by BMC 5,764
* No of trees planted by MMRDA 11,994 2008-’09 figures
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