Oct 27, 2006: News: DNA, Mumbai : Where did all the trees vanish?

Where did all the trees vanish?

Officials refuse to divulge information on number of missing trees
DNA Correspondent

The city is fast losing its green cover with trees getting the axe on
anybody’s whims and fancy. A case in point is Dadar where information
gathered using the Right to Information Act clearly shows Mumbai has lost
more than 1,100 trees for reasons best known only to the civic officials.
Replying to the applications, civic officials said they do not have any
criteria for appointing a private agency for hacking or pruning a tree and
refused to divulge more information.

“It is absurd that they don’t check whether the person hacking the tree has
any expertise in his job,” said Bhaskar Prabhu, a local activist who filed
the applications. Just a few days ago, miscreants hacked 100 trees on the
Sion-Panvel expressway close to Mankhurd allegedly to give a better view of
the hoardings along the Expressway. The Tree Authority, which had been
appointed to take care of the city’s green cover with an annual budget of
Rs14 crore, has come under scanner from a Bombay High Court appointed
committee for alleged mismanagement of funds. “We are aware that the Tree
Authority is not using its funds responsibly. It is certainly a matter of
concern for us,” a senior civic official said.

Any tree less with a diameter less than six inches should be hacked or
pruned by the local wards. If the tree is wider, then it should be taken
care of by the Tree Authority or a private party. In 2004, an initial
application was filed to find out the number of trees in Dadar. The count
was 5,669 then. The next year, civic officials had said that they planted
339 more trees in the same area. But in 2006, the number of trees had come
down to 4917.

“What is appalling is that the BMC refused to divulge information on where
these trees have vanished. They gave us a vague reply saying that the local
ward officer has the authority to hack a tree during the monsoon. If that is
the case then why didn’t tell where the trees disappeared,” Prabhu said.
Local Ward Officer AB Khanolkar said they make sure the private agency
appointed for hacking has all the machines required.

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