In the last one year, the Gardens Department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has removed concrete bases from 3,112 trees. The data shows that from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, along with the removal of concrete bases, civic officials have also created tree basins. The data was shared in the corporation’s annual Environment Status Report of 2020-21. BMC’s action came after the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) direction passed in 2015 on NGO Vanashakti’s complaint that the concretisation of pavement around critical root zones of trees was among the one of the reasons for the death of rain trees. “Although we remove concrete from the critical root zones of trees, during road and footpath repair works, the root areas once again get concretised. We have already issued instructions to roads and other BMC departments that while carrying out repair works, they should not concretise tree basins. But in many cases, it is not followed,” said an official from the Gardens Department. In 2019-20, the civic body removed cement and concrete bases from around 26,934 trees. The BMC data also shows that in 2020-21, the department has planted 20,195 trees across the city. Moreover, the trimming of 1,06,731 trees and removal of 584 dead and dangerous trees were also done in the last one year.
