Monsoon storms, besides bringing rain to the city, are often accompanied by winds strong enough to uproot trees. In order to minimise cases of trees getting uprooted this year, the Tree Authority had in April issued a notice to the BMC ward offices asking them to build a 2-foot tree basin, around every tree, and fill it with soil.

However, when Newsline inspected roads between Tardeo and Haji Ali, nearly 50 trees were found cemented to the base. At Bandra too, several trees along Linking Road were found packed to the base. Other areas where Newsline found that the tree authority’s instruction was not yet implemented included pockets of Dadar and Bombay Central and a stretch between Grant Road and Charni Road adjoining the railway stations. 

Last year, after members of the Tree Authority complained that trees were weakened because the BMC while concretizing roads and footpaths, was cementing the base of the trees, the superintendent of gardens issued an instruction to all the wards. In a letter dated May 2, 2008 and followed up on April 8, this year, the superintendent stated: “It is noticed that at several places in the city and the western and eastern suburbs, tree basins are covered by paverblocks, cement concrete and asplahting up to tree base which obstructs the growth of trees and damages trunk.”

Pointing that it is an offence under the Tree  Act (As modified on Novermber 3, 2006), he advised all ward officials to “direct concerned staff to remove the paverblocks or cement concrete done around the trees bases/trunks immediately and send the action taken report from your end.”

 However, the Deputy Chief Engineer (road) of City, D L Shinde, in charge of roads from Churchgate to Mahim, said, “We are making sure that two-feet basins are provided for all the trees while asphalting or laying paverblocks on the roads. We have also instructed our contractors about it. As for the old roads where bases of trees have already been cemented, we will dig them up and make basins after the monsoons because we don’t want to disturb the roads during the rains.”

Officials of the western suburbs and eastern suburbs said that they were always implementing the regime of providing basins of pits for trees. D S Patil, deputy chief engineers (roads) of the western suburbs, in charge of roads from Bandra to Borivali said, “We are instructing all our ward offices to  ensure that trees are not cemented till the base for several years now.” When pointed out that tree with bases cemented to their roots are still found at Linking Road, near National College, Patil said, “Linking Road is under purview of MMRDA. On roads maintained by the BMC, you won’t find such lapses.”

Tree Authority’s nominated member Dr Nilesh Baxi said, “These trees are sure to wither off and die within four years. The cementing will reduce the water available to the roots and in a few years time, these trees will have no access to ground water.”

URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ahead-of-monsoon-notice-to-save-trees-goes-unnoticed/469711/