With the Greater Chennai Corporation expediting the stormwater drain associated work to complete them forward of the monsoons, a bit of residents and activists have raised considerations over felling of some bushes for the work.
A working example is the Adyar zone the place the work is in full swing at many locations and there have been complaints of felling of bushes in just a few spots. At least three bushes, together with a palm tree, have been felled in Gandhi Nagar whereas another was felled in Kasturba Nagar.
A roadside vendor in Gandhi Nagar, requesting anonymity, mentioned the bushes felled within the locality have been a minimum of 10 to fifteen years outdated. “Apart from intentional felling, a key problem is the use of earthmoving equipment near trees for digging the ground. Mistaken manoeuvring of the equipment can result in trees falling,” he mentioned.
A resident of Kasturba Nagar mentioned that in some locations although the bushes had not been felled, that they had been weakened significantly with their roots being uncovered.
T.D. Babu, a trustee of Nizhal, an organisation that works in direction of conservation, mentioned the harm attributable to felling of bushes outweighed the advantages of establishing the stormwater drains. He highlighted how residents in some localities had raised doubts over the effectivity of the drains being constructed as a consequence of their design and implementation.
He mentioned the compensatory measure of planting saplings elsewhere for the bushes felled was not efficient because the newly planted saplings have been usually not taken care correctly.
C. Ramakrishnan of Federation of Adyar Residents Association (FEDARA) mentioned {that a} key challenge with the implementation of stormwater drain, together with the felling of bushes, is the dearth of engagement and consultations with the residents’ welfare associations within the localities.
Pointing out that there have been approvals wanted at senior stage for felling of bushes, Jayaram Venkatesan, convener of Arappor Iyakkam, mentioned the GCC must be clear and let the general public know if obligatory approvals have been obtained after contemplating all of the options to keep away from the felling.
A zonal-level official from Adyar mentioned one tree in Kasturba Nagar was felled as per the suggestion of the resident because the tree was weak. He mentioned that ample care was taken to keep away from felling elsewhere. When The Hindu visited the realm, the efforts taken in some areas to barely alter the alignment of the drain to keep away from felling of bushes close by have been seen.
Felling not allowed
GCC Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi mentioned all of the officers had been instructed to not take down even a single tree for the work except and till it was proved that it was completely obligatory. He mentioned that officers had been requested to think about constructing the drain across the tree as an alternative of reducing it down.
He mentioned that applicable motion can be taken if there have been any complaints of felling of bushes for stormwater drain-related works.
Highlighting that GCC was striving exhausting to enhance town’s inexperienced cowl, he mentioned: “We are pushing for more and more trees. Around 600 to 700 saplings are planted every fortnight in each zone with the support of residents’ welfare associations. We want more trees. We are unwilling to allow cutting down of any tree for stormwater drain work.”
Source: www.thehindu.com
