NGT asks BMC to act against those dumping garbage around trees

There have been rising instances of trees collapsing and environmentalist claim that the roots of the trees are weakening and giving away due to concretisation. Based on the complaints, the NGT had asked for removal of concrete around trees.

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However, this has given rise to a new problem. People are now using the space created around trees after this de-concretisation to dump garbage. “Ward officers may request secretaries of housing societies to keep such places clean, ensuring there is no dumping of any garbage or leftover tiles after removal of concrete around the tree,” said the NGT.

The NGT order also directed the BMC to arrange for local helplines to take immediate action against those who dumped garbage around trees.

The tribunal was hearing a petition by NGO Vanashakti that had sought removal of all concrete bases in the critical root zone of the trees, besides asking for tree basins to be created along all roads where trees were planted. The NGO had requested the tribunal to ensure the de-concretisation process be expedited and that the civic body did proper vigilance to keep the de-concretised areas free of garbage.

In January, the tribunal had directed the BMC to remove concrete around trees within three months and ensure that no construction or repair work was done in that space. Consequently, the BMC’s gardens department had sent a letter to the chief engineer of roads on January 27, requesting him to not allow concretising of roads and footpaths till the tree level, specifying that space might be left for trees to breathe. But until April 1, only 273 tree bases had been de-concretised, according to officials in the department.

By August, the department claimed, it had de-concretised 10,000 tree bases in the city.

Environmentalists said the work done was shoddy and would not help the trees. “We continue to receive complaints from people all over the city. With the exception of Dadar East, the BMC has cleared only 1-foot area around the tree base everywhere else, even though the order clearly says the area should be 1 metre,” said D Stalin, project director, Vanashakti.

Consequently, the Aarey Conservation Group is observing the second half of August as a fortnight devoted to “freeing” trees. The ‘Free the Tree’ campaign invites people to take pictures of choking trees and forward them, along with details like the location, to the group. The group will collate these inputs and take up the matter with the authorities concerned.

A survey of trees, submitted to the BMC in November 2014, had shown how concretised tree bases led to compromised immunity in rain trees, making them susceptible to infections and infestation.

The report concluded that unlike the case in most parts of the city, bases of trees in Aarey, Godrej colony and Nerul were not concretised, letting the trees survive and grow in natural conditions like on a forest floor. The trees in these areas, as a result, showed health and uncompromised immunity, prompting the NGT to pass the order.

anjali.lukose@expressindia.com