Latest news with #UrbanAreas)ProtectionandPreservationofTreesAct
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
PMC to start ambulance service to protect & maintain trees on lines of initiative in Chennai
Pune: At a time when it is facing criticism over rampant tree cutting across the city, the civic body has decided to go the Chennai way by introducing a 'tree ambulance' service to protect and maintain trees. The service will be started on June 5, World Environment Day . An ambulance equipped with tools and expertise to diagnose and treat tree diseases, injuries, and environmental damage will provide maintenance care for trees. It will also carry out tree surgery, pest control, and even tree planting. Environmentalists and tree lovers have welcomed the initiative although they are not fully convinced about its effectiveness. They have argued that Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has not been curbing tree cutting, ensuring proper transplanting of trees, and promoting native species. TOI, in its issue dated May 26, highlighted a study showing how Pune saw a 34% decline in its carbon sequestration capacity — the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon — due to rapid urbanisation over the last decade. Between 2013 and 2022, Pune's built-up areas expanded by 12%, leading to a substantial loss of green cover. This urban growth reduced the city's carbon absorption ability and weakened its flood mitigation potential by 13%. PMC authorities insisted that the initiative will bear results. Tree ambulances will be equipped with a hydraulic chainsaw, electric chainsaw, spray machine, battery bar cutter, bolt cutter, woodcutter apron, welding cable, and other equipment. "The damages caused to the trees are due to unauthorised advertisements placed on trees. Many traders or advertisers use the trunk of trees for advertising. The banners and posters are placed using nails. It injures the trees and causes severe damage," said Madhav Patil of Angholichi Goli organisation, which works on maintenance of trees. A M Dixit of Kothrud said that the administration should judiciously provide permission for cutting trees. "The permission to cut trees are given rampantly. This practice should be stopped. The civic body should carry out a proper ground survey before giving a green signal to chop trees," he said. Ashok Ghorpade, head of PMC's garden department, said that the administration started this initiative for conservation of the green cover. "The vehicle will go to different places for maintenance of trees. Citizens can reach out to PMC for availing the service. The move also aims at creating awareness about illegal advertisements on trees by damaging them," he said. According to PMC officials, people can reach out to the civic administration for sharing the locations of injured trees. They can also work as volunteers for promoting tree ambulance and its services. The Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, states that damages to trees are punishable. This act regulates felling, injury, and preservation of trees in urban areas across Maharashtra. It has made mandatory to take permission from the Tree Authority before felling or destroying any tree. Tree ambulance in Chennai A group of environmentalists initiated the tree ambulance service in Chennai around six years ago. Some of the services offered by them include first aid treatment, uprooted tree planting, seed bank, seed ball distribution, plant distribution, aiding tree plantation, shifting trees, surveying trees, and removing dead trees. The ambulance is accompanied by plant experts and helpers with gardening tools, water, manure, and pesticides. Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), have launched fleet tree ambulances.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
HC Stays Felling of 1,374 Trees in City Over Viability of Compensatory Plantation
Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Tuesday imposed an interim stay on the proposed felling of 1,374 trees in the city's various areas, expressing strong reservations about compensatory plantation in forested zones such as Gorewada in lieu of lost urban greenery. These areas include the Mankapur sports complex, the collectorate, and the divisional commissioner's complex, among others. The division bench, comprising justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi, while hearing a PIL filed by Preeti Patel and three others, observed that 'not a single tree should be cut' until further orders. The PIL challenges the legality of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's tree-cutting proposal, alleging it violates mandatory provisions of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975. The petitioners, represented by counsel Mrinall Chakravorty, argued that the civic body submitted the tree-felling proposal without conducting a proper tree census since 2011, without formulating a concrete compensatory plantation plan, and in the absence of a detailed development master plan. NMC counsel Jemini Kassat submitted that trees were being removed to facilitate the construction of the divisional commissioner's office and that afforestation would be carried out in the Gorewada forest area. The court, however, rejected the approach, stating that urban tree loss cannot be offset by planting in distant forest tracts. "Cutting trees in the city and planting them in the jungle will destroy the environmental balance of the city," the bench observed, before adjourning the hearing till next week. The judges also raised concerns about the efficacy of compensatory plantations, questioning whether any monitoring mechanism exists to determine the survival rate of planted saplings. "Who is keeping track of how many planted trees are actually surviving?" the bench asked verbally.
