The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Tree protection scheme yet to take off

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Kerala - Kochi

Tree protection scheme yet to take off

Staff Reporter

Tree counting a non-starter; help of NSS units to be sought

Photo: VIPIN CHANDRAN

SAVING A SENTINEL: Kochi Mayor Mercy Williams near a tree that was trimmed at Palarivattom junction in February this year.

KOCHI: The proposal for numbering the trees lining the city roads and protecting them from the axe remains a non-starter even when more trees are being brought down.

The proposal was first mooted when some Gulmohar trees in Marine Drive were closely pruned in December 2006 in connection with the Kochi visit of the then President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The pruning was carried out citing security reasons — to facilitate the smooth landing of the helicopter that was expected to bring the President to the city.

Infuriated by the merciless pruning, a large number of people and environmentalists had shot off protest e-mails to Mr. Kalam. Following the widespread protest, the President’s office had directed the Ernakulam District Collector to plant 10 times the number of trees that were badly trimmed. The civic administration had then declared that all the trees in the city would be counted and numbered for protecting them.

The civic authorities had reiterated their decision to count the trees on a couple of occasions later when trees along the city the roads were cut down.

The Corporation authorities repeated the announcement on February 19 also when a rain tree at Palarivattom was cut down by a section of traders.

Though the Corporation had asked the officials of the Town Planning Department to prepare the list of trees, the officials have failed to take any step in this direction, said E.M. Sunilkumar, chairman of the Town Planning Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation.

The officials were also asked to identify the trees that needed to be pruned and those which were posing threat to pedestrians.

These proposals were also not implemented by the officials of the Corporation, he said.

Scheme

Fed up with the inaction of the officials, the Town Planning Committee is now toying with the idea of seeking the support of students’ voluntary organisations like NSS for evolving a scheme to protect the trees. The Paristhiti Bhavan and the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development of the Corporation are now working on the proposal to seek the support of the NSS units in various city colleges to make a list of trees in their area. Preliminary discussions were held in this regard and the Corporation hopes to launch the scheme shortly, Mr. Sunilkumar said.

‘10 saplings for one tree’

The Corporation had come under severe criticism for its failure in checking the cutting of trees in the city, including the one at Palarivattom. The cutting of the tree was stopped halfway following the personal intervention of Mayor Mercy Williams and Mr. Sunilkumar. However, the trunk and the remaining branches of the tree were cut down by the traders later.

The Corporation had not permitted the cutting down of the tree at Palarivattom. Now, a trader has come forward for planting and protecting 10 saplings in place of the tree that was cut down. The Assistant Executive Engineer of the Edapally zone office of the Kochi Corporation was asked to identify the spots where the saplings could be planted.

The trader has also offered to bear the expenses for planting and protecting the saplings, Mr. Sunilkumar said.

The Corporation plans to plant the saplings this monsoon season, he said.

The pruning of branches of trees that pose danger to the general public will also be carried out before the onset of monsoon, he said.

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