685 trees to be felled or replanted for metro

The report says the Environment Impact Assessment (EIS) of the Metro alignment has also been done. “As part of that,the environment status of the route along the Metro corridor has been assessed and all the pros and cons have been taken into consideration. The positive change that the Metro project can bring is to avoid traffic congestions,save time required for transportation,bring down air and noise pollution levels,lower number of road accidents,etc.”

However,environmentalists are skeptical about the transplantation of trees.

“Going by the track record of the PMC,the 685 trees,that the reports states,will either not be replanted or if done so,it won’t care for trees once planted. Almost 75 per cent of plants transplanted this way have not survived,because of the civic body’s carelessness,” one of them said.

S C N Jatar of Nagrik Chetana Manch also echoed this view. “Transplanting the trees is a good move. But,the PMC does not have the tenacity to groom them further.”

The DMRC had also completed the geo technical investigation for the implementation of the project. As part of it,it had made 44 bore holes along the proposed Metro route. These holes are nearly 30 m deep and samples were collected and analysed for soil texture and composition. Meanwhile,members of the City Improvement Committee (CIC) have expressed their discontent for them not being invited for Tuesday’s presentation-cum-meeting on the metro project.

The CIC members,before whom the proposal of offering four per cent FSI for the project is pending for approval,sought an explanation for the development from additional city engineer (traffic) Srinivas Bonala. It has been learnt that Bonala had pointed out that the CIC meeting was going to be held the next day. The CIC has also postponed any decision of the FSI proposal till June 24.