Under fire over alleged mindless ‘legal’ chopping of over 15,000 trees in name of infrastructure expansion in Gurugram, local authorities have initiated an array of damage control measures, including asking the citizens to compulsorily plant trees.
People whose plots measure more than 200 square yards will have to plant one tree, those whose plots measure between 200 and 500 square yards will have two plant two trees, and those who own plots that measure between 500 and 750 square yards will have to plant three trees. For every four metres by which the area increases thereafter, residents will be expected to plant one more tree.
“What has been done is done; we cannot change it. But we can resolve it. On our part, authorities are doing their best; but even people have some responsibility. They can misuse space to construct illegal PGs, but cannot plant a tree in house? It is a collective duty to maintain green cover and many cities across the world are implementing the norm. So why not Gurugram,” said Mayor Madhu Azad.
Days after CM Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar kick-started 'Paudhagiri campaign'—a special programme to increase green cover in the state—entrusting school students with planting saplings to compensate for lost green cover, Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon has approved a proposal, making planting of trees outside each house in the city mandatory.
According to official data, while the green cover of Gurugram district is a meagre eight per cent, the Gurugram city has only three per cent green cover. This green cover also includes the forest area of Aravallis, which, according to a recent report by Wildlife Institute of India, is also receding.
The issue had hit headlines recently when state public works department (PWD) sought permission to fell 1,300 trees for constructing a new underpass. As per the forest department records, other than thousands of trees being illegally chopped across the city and Aravallis, over 1,500 trees have been ‘legally’ chopped off in the last two years, with 7,500 trees cut in 2017-18 and 7,200 in 2016-17. This was a steep increase from around 2,200 trees cut in 2015 -16. The trees were chopped with due permissions to build new roads, buildings, underpasses and even giving highway access to various realtors. In bid to undo the damage, a series of initiatives have been launched, with this being latest.
The move, which environmentalists have written off as impractical, has left residents struggling for parking space.
“Do they take consent of local residents before chopping off the trees in there area? Why are environmental concerns not kept in mind while planning containerisation? It's funny that they chop off decades old tress and talk of replacement through publicity plantations. Replenishment of lost green cover is a scientific process. Mindless planting of saplings is going to be of no use. Parking is a major issue in city’s residential areas where residents are forced to use front yards and lanes as parking spaces where will trees be planted,” said local environmentalist Jitender Bhadana.