1,400 trees to be cut down for road widening, other works

| SADAGURU PANDIT

Published : Apr 22, 2016, 2:00 am IST

Updated : Apr 22, 2016, 2:00 am IST

Around 1,400 trees in Thane are going to be cut down at three different locations for the road widening and other civic works that are slated to be undertaken in the city.

Around 1,400 trees in Thane are going to be cut down at three different locations for the road widening and other civic works that are slated to be undertaken in the city. Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has undertaken the civic works of the city on a larger scale and three projects of the civic body are slated to start shortly in this connection. The proposal for removing the trees will be presented before the approving official on Friday.

While TMC officials claim that they replant as many trees as are taken down, environmentalists have pointed out the poor survival rate of the trees and extent of damage to the biodiversity of the city.

Officials confirmed that if approved, the tree cutting would be undertaken at Naupada, Bhaskar Colony and Meenatai Thackeray Chowk. Sources on the condition of anonymity said there is little chance the proposal will be withdrawn since even previously 1,200 trees were cut during the Cadbury Junction to Shastri Nagar road widening project. “It was claimed earlier to have replanted the trees, however, the location of the replanted trees is ambiguous. There is no proof of how many of them actually survived,” an official admitted.

The most number of trees will be cut between Raunak Park to Majiwada vicinity for the Pokharan road to road widening, which is estimated to cost around 935 trees.

Environmentalists said the major issue with the tree cutting and replantation is that while the trees to be cut include a large amount of local trees, the replanted ones will mostly be rain trees which are vulnerable to fungal attack and are unsuitable to the local climate. “The trees are supporting an independent chain of biodiversity. Cutting the trees will not only disturb the same but will also cause the migration of many species of birds which are dependent on the trees. We will keep a watch on what kind of trees are being severed and where the replantation is taking place,” said a noted environmentalist on the condition of anonymity.