BMC appoints 16 agencies to transplant trees……Linah Baliga
Mumbai: Although trees hacked for developmental projects in the city,either by builders or the civic body,are transplanted,their survival isnt guaranteed.
The BMCs tree authority has finally found a remedy for their survival,after they learnt that the transplanted trees were dying drastically.The tree authority has approved 16 private agencies that excel in horticultural expertise and which will take the onus for their survival for two years.
Earlier,whenever we got proposals for cutting trees,the man in charge was also responsible for transplanting them.But he did not have a background in horticulture.The survival rate had fallen due to their inexperience.In the new scheme,the agency which will transplant trees will maintain these for two years.It will also be compulsory and binding upon the BMC and the builders to only appoint one of the 16 agencies for transplantation of trees.If the agencies fail to take care,they will be disqualified, said Chandrashekhar Rokde,superintendant of gardens.
The builders dont have to search for other agencies,which charge exorbitant rates and who also lack technical expertise.Through Right to Information (RTI),it was revealed that from January 2000 to January 2008,28,000 trees were transplanted but theres no record of the sites of where they were transplanted or how many survived.
* BANKING ON EXPERTISE: Tree authority has roped in agencies that excel in horticulture