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News18
5 days ago
- General
- News18
CM Patel inaugurates urban forest park in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad, Aug 8 (PTI) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday inaugurated an urban forest park developed by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation using the Miyawaki method in Lambha area of the city. He also unveiled a statue of tribal icon Bhagwan Birsa Munda on the occasion, an official release said. The Miyawaki method, invented by a Japanese botanist, involves planting a variety of native trees and shrubs close together to mimic a natural forest system. The urban forest has been developed over 4,464 square meters at a cost of Rs 55 lakh under the public-private partnership model, and houses some 8,000 indigenous trees including teak, khair (Cutch tree), bamboo, siris (Albizia lebbeck), sissu (Dalbergia sissoo) and arjun (Terminalia arjuna). It also includes a 250-meter walkway. To transform Ahmedabad into a green city, the municipal corporation has launched the campaign `Mission Four Million Trees 2025" with a target of planting 40 lakh trees, and 27,11,443 trees have been planted so far, the release said. With 66.77 per cent of the target achieved, the AMC is set to complete the remaining plantation work in the coming days, it added. The corporation has so far developed 198 `oxygen parks' or urban forests using the Miyawaki method and dense plantation techniques. Ahmedabad has a total of 310 public gardens. The Garden Department has planted more than one crore trees across the city in the last six years, said the release. PTI PJT KRK view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Hindu
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
NDC calls on government to reconsider decision to allow felling of rosewood trees in patta lands
The Nilgiri Documentation Center (NDC) has called on the Tamil Nadu government to immediately reconsider the Forest Department's decision to not renew the Tamil Nadu Rosewood Trees (Conservation) Act. The NDC said the 'decision not only goes against all norms of conservation,' but could be a major embarrassment to the government in the coming elections. The withdrawal of the act would allow for the felling of trees from private patta lands, with ecologists voicing their concerns that trees that are located within reserve forests too will be more prone to being targeted by illegal timber smugglers. 'The 1995 legislation enacted by the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was a first of its kind in the country to protect the rosewood tree. It was enacted in response to a widespread call led by the Save Nilgiris Campaign to stop the rampant illegal felling of the endangered native species of the State. The prompt action of the Chief Minister was hailed as a forerunner to conserve such trees in the other states coming under the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve,' said Venugopal Dharmalingam, honorary director of the NDC in a statement. 'At a time when conservation of native trees are given the highest priority by the governments and the courts, a decision of this nature should have been taken at the level of the Chief Minister. The dubious reasons given by the Forest Department to annul the act betrays a sense of insensitivity by the officials. Native trees like the rosewood cannot be grown anywhere or so easily. Withdrawing the act will be a clear licence for the illegal felling of the last of the ancient trees which are listed under the red book of the International Union of Conservation of Nature,' he added. He said rosewood trees, Dalbergia latifolia, listed as a 'vulnerable' species in the IUCN Red list, were found in the Nilgiris region of Tamil Nadu and the Western Ghats, particularly in areas like Anamalais, Mudumalai, and Gudalur. 'These trees are known for their high-quality timber and are a significant part of the Nilgiri Biosphere. A rosewood tree, estimated to be 200 years old, located in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve was declared a Heritage Tree of Tamil Nadu by the State Biodiversity Board in 2017,' he noted, adding that the species holds special significance to the Badaga community.
